dragons and such

On another blog that i have (my personal blog) i posted this little blurp about dragonflies and damselflies. the more i watch and witness their actions, the more amazed i am by them. so i decided to copy into this blog, cause i believe it is worth a read.

check this out..
i know sometimes i have nothing really important to say, and to alot of you this my being boring, but i find it amazing.
here's your educational spot for the week. read it, look around and open your eyes a little wider.
Dragonflies.
these amazing insects are seen through out AZ and other parts of the US, and i was always curious to what their purpose is. Do they bite, sting or do any other harm to us?..well i looked into it. Hopefully what i found out will help curb the fear that alot of people have when these truly beautiful insects buzz by your noggin.
There are a few myths about dragonflies that are totally untrue.
Dragonflies are insects in the sub-order Anisoptera (meaning"unequal-winged"). Hind wings are usually shorter and broader than the front wings. They are usually larger, strongly flying insects that can often be found flying well away from water. When at rest, they hold their wings out from the body, often at right angles to it. The eyes are very large and usually touch, at least at a point. In the dragonflies infancy they are actually water dwelling, and their life span is 1-3 years as water dwelling larvae before they at some point venture up out of the water, sprout wings and take flight. Once out of the water their adult life span is up to only 4 months, in which time they have to find food (which is other insects), find a mate, and reproduce. Some larger d.flies have lived from birth to death up to 7 years! (a myth about life span is that they live 24hrs..NOT TRUE).
Sometimes when you're out kickin around and you see a small dragonfly..it is infact not a dragonfly at all. It's a Damselfly.
Damselflies are insect in the sub-order Zygoptera (meaning "yoke-winged"). All four wings are near enough equal in size and shape. They are usually small, weakly flying insects that stay close to the water margins or water surface. When at rest, most species hold their wings along the length of their abdomen. The eyes are always separated, never touching. The larvae have external plates (lamellae) at the end of the abdomen, which act as accessory gills.
Can they cause harm to humans? No, similar to the idea of a daddy long leg(Opiliones, which aren't actually spiders at all..i'll explain at a different time)a dragonfly/damselfly (and daddylongleg) mouth arent strong enough nor large enough to bit, and the long part of both types of D. flies are not stingers, they are birth or egg tubes. In fact D.flies of both are more passive sometimes even willing to land on your finger if stretched out to allow them. One of the ways the myth started was when they land sometimes their long bodies will curl alittle presenting the visual idea that they are preparing to sting you (which is untrue, and impossible). They also make a motion that appears that theyre trying to bite you (not true as well as pointed out above).