Editing Dragonfly (section)

== Dragonflies and humans ==

=== Conservation ===

[[File:Dragonflies - oze national park - 2021 8 2.ogg|thumb|Dragonflies in [[Oze National Park]]]]

Most odonatologists live in temperate areas and the dragonflies of North America and Europe have been the subject of much research. However, the majority of species live in tropical areas and have been little studied. With the destruction of rainforest habitats, many of these species are in danger of becoming extinct before they have even been named.  The greatest cause of decline is forest clearance with the consequent drying up of streams and pools which become clogged with silt. The damming of rivers for hydroelectric schemes and the drainage of low-lying land has reduced suitable habitat, as has pollution and the introduction of alien species.<ref name=Moore>{{cite web |url=https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/1997-042.pdf |title=Dragonflies: status survey and conservation action plan |author=Moore, N.W. |year=1997 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |access-date=13 September 2017}}</ref>

In 1997, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] set up a status survey and conservation action plan for dragonflies. This proposes the establishment of protected areas around the world and the management of these areas to provide suitable habitat for dragonflies. Outside these areas, encouragement should be given to modify forestry, agricultural, and industrial practices to enhance conservation. At the same time, more research into dragonflies needs to be done, consideration should be given to pollution control and the public should be educated about the importance of [[biodiversity]].<ref name=Moore/>

Habitat degradation has reduced dragonfly populations across the world, for example in Japan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Taku |first1=Kadoya |last2=Shin-ichi |first2=Suda |last3=Izumi |first3=Washitani |title=Dragonfly Crisis in Japan: A likely Consequence of Recent Agricultural Habitat Degradation |journal=Biological Conservation |date=2009 |volume=142 |issue=9 |pages=1889–1905 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.033|bibcode=2009BCons.142.1899K }}</ref> Over 60% of Japan's wetlands were lost in the 20th century, so its dragonflies now depend largely on rice fields, ponds, and creeks. Dragonflies feed on pest insects in rice, acting as a natural pest control.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Channa N. B. Bambaradeniya|author2=Felix P. Amerasinghe|title=Biodiversity associated with the rice field agroecosystem in Asian countries: A brief review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPgdBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |year=2004 |publisher=IWMI |isbn=978-92-9090-532-5|page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Washitani |first1=Izumi |title=Restoration of Biologically-Diverse Floodplain Wetlands Including Paddy Fields |journal=Global Environmental Research |date=2008 |volume=12 |pages=95–99}}</ref> Dragonflies are steadily declining in Africa, and represent a conservation priority.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simaika |first1=John P. |last2=Samways |first2=Michael J. |last3=Kipping |first3=Jens |last4=Suhling |first4=Frank |last5=Dijkstra |first5=Klaas-Douwe B. |last6=Clausnitzer |first6=Viola |last7=Boudot |first7=Jean Pierre |last8=Domisch  |first8=Sami |title=Continental-Scale Conservation Prioritization of African Dragonflies |journal=Biological Conservation |date=2013 |volume=157 |pages=245–254 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.08.039|bibcode=2013BCons.157..245S }}</ref>

The dragonfly's long lifespan and low population density makes it vulnerable to disturbance, such as from collisions with vehicles on roads built near wetlands. Species that fly low and slow may be most at risk.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soluk |last2=Zercher |last3=Worthington |first1=Daniel A.|first2=Deanna S.|first3=Amy M.|title=Influence of roadways on patterns of mortality and flight behavior of adult dragonflies near wetland areas |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=5 |year=2011 |pages=1638–1643 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.015|bibcode=2011BCons.144.1638S }}</ref>

Dragonflies are attracted to shiny surfaces that produce polarization which they can mistake for water, and they have been known to aggregate close to polished gravestones, solar panels, automobiles, and other such structures on which they attempt to lay eggs. These can have a local impact on dragonfly populations; methods of reducing the attractiveness of structures such as solar panels are under experimentation.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Gabor |last1=Horvath |first2=Miklos |last2=Blaho |first3=Adam |last3=Egri |first4=Gyorgy |last4=Kriska |first5=Istvan |last5=Seres |first6=Bruce |last6=Robertson |title=Reducing the Maladaptive Attractiveness of Solar Panels to Polarotactic Insects |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=1644–1653 |year=2010  |pmid=20455911 |bibcode=2010ConBi..24.1644H |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01518.x |s2cid=39299883 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Gabor |last1=Horvath |first2=Peter |last2=Malik |first3=Gyorgy |last3=Kriska |first4=Hansruedi |last4=Wildermuth |title=Ecological traps for dragonflies in a cemetery: the attraction of Sympetrum species (Odonata: Libellulidae)by horizontally polarizing black gravestones |journal=Freshwater Biology |year=2007 |volume=52 |issue=9 |pages=1700–1709 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2427.2007.01798.x |bibcode=2007FrBio..52.1700H }}</ref>

===In culture===
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A blue-glazed [[faience]] dragonfly [[amulet]] was found by [[Flinders Petrie]] at Lahun, from the Late [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] of [[ancient Egypt]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Beads UC7549 |url=http://petriecat.museums.ucl.ac.uk/detail.aspx# |website=Petrie Museum Catalogue |publisher=The Petrie Museum, UCL |access-date=10 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916063302/http://petriecat.museums.ucl.ac.uk/detail.aspx |archive-date=16 September 2017 |url-status=dead }} There is a photograph in the catalogue; it is free for non-commercial usage<!--so, not suitable for Wikipedia-->.</ref>

For the [[Navajo people|Navajo]], dragonflies symbolize pure water. Often stylized in a double-barred cross design, dragonflies are a common motif in [[Zuni people|Zuni]] pottery, as well as [[Hopi]] rock art and [[Pueblo people|Pueblo]] necklaces.<ref name="Mitchell"/>{{rp|20–26|date=December 2012}}

As a seasonal symbol in [[Japan]], dragonflies are associated with the season of autumn.<ref>{{cite book |last=Baird |first=Merrily |title=Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design |publisher=Rizzoli |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8478-2361-1 |location=New York| pages=108–109}}</ref>
In Japan, they are symbols of rebirth, courage, strength, and happiness. They are also depicted frequently in Japanese art and literature, especially ''[[haiku]]'' poetry. Japanese children catch large dragonflies as a game, using a hair with a small pebble tied to each end, which they throw into the air. The dragonfly mistakes the pebbles for prey, gets tangled in the hair, and is dragged to the ground by the weight.<ref name="Mitchell" />{{rp|38|date=December 2012}}

In both [[China]] and Japan, dragonflies have been used in traditional medicine. In [[Indonesia]], adult dragonflies are caught on poles made sticky with [[birdlime]], then fried in oil as a delicacy.{{sfn|Corbet|1999|p=559}}

Images of dragonflies are common in [[Art Nouveau]], especially in jewellery designs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Moonan |first=Wendy |title=Dragonflies Shimmering as Jewelry |work=The New York Times |pages=E2:38 |date=August 13, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/13/arts/antiques-dragonflies-shimmering-as-jewelry.html}}</ref>  They have also been used as a decorative motif on fabrics and home furnishings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Large |first=Elizabeth | title=The latest buzz; In the world of design, dragonflies are flying high |work=The Sun (Baltimore, MD) |page=6N |date=June 27, 1999 |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/06/27/the-latest-buzz-in-the-world-of-design-dragonflies-are-flying-high-focus-on-style/ |access-date=2014-09-02 | archive-date=2015-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223172615/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-06-27/news/9906300323_1_dragonfly-gifts-and-accessories-bug |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Douglas (motorcycles)|Douglas]], a British motorcycle manufacturer based in Bristol, named its innovatively designed postwar 350-cc flat-twin model the [[Douglas Dragonfly|Dragonfly]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/motorcycle-reviews/1955-douglas-dragonfly.aspx?page=4|title=1955 Douglas Dragonfly |publisher=Motorcycle Classics |access-date=2009-08-10 |date=November–December 2007 |first=Roland |last=Brown}}</ref>

Among the classical [[names of Japan]] are ''Akitsukuni'' (秋津国), ''Akitsushima'' (秋津島), ''Toyo-akitsushima'' (豊秋津島). ''Akitsu'' is an old word for dragonfly, so one interpretation of ''Akitsushima'' is "Dragonfly Island".<ref>{{cite book| last=Nussbaum | first=Louis Frédéric |author2=Käthe Roth | chapter=Akitsushima | title=Japan Encyclopedia | publisher=Harvard University Press | year=2005 | location=Cambridge |page=20| isbn=9780674017535 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC}}</ref> This is attributed to a legend in which Japan's mythical founder, [[Emperor Jimmu]], was bitten by a [[mosquito]], which was then eaten by a dragonfly.<ref>[http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb//viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6663 Nihonto]</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= 日本文化を英語で紹介する事典 |trans-title=A Bilingual Handbook on Japanese Culture |author= 杉浦洋一 (Youichi Sugiura)|author2= John K. Gillespie (ジョン・K・ギレスピー)|year= 1999 |publisher=Natsume Group |location=Chiyoda, Tokyo |language=ja, en|isbn= 978-4-8163-2646-2 |page= 305 |url= http://www.natsume.co.jp |access-date=2010-04-26}}</ref>

In Europe, dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "horse-stinger",<ref>{{cite web |last1=Trueman |first1=John W. H. |last2=Rowe |first2=Richard J.|title=Odonata: Dragonflies and Damselflies |url=http://tolweb.org/Odonata/8266 |website=Tree of Life |access-date=27 February 2015}}</ref> "[[devil]]'s darning needle", and "ear cutter", link them with evil and injury.{{sfn|Corbet|1999|pp=559–561}} Some of these reference the popular misconception that dragonflies can bite or sting humans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Richard |title=Do dragonflies bite or sting humans? |url=https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/insects-invertebrates/do-dragonflies-bite-humans |access-date=July 6, 2024 |website=[[BBC Wildlife]]|date=5 November 2015 }}</ref> [[Sweden|Swedish]] folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls.<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book | last=Mitchell | first=Forrest L. | author2=Lasswell, James L. | title=A Dazzle of Dragonflies | publisher=Texas A&M University Press | year=2005 | location=College Station, TX | isbn=978-1-58544-459-5 }}</ref>{{rp|25–27|date=December 2012}} The [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] name for dragonflies is ''Øyenstikker'' ("eye-poker"), and in [[Portugal]], they are sometimes called ''tira-olhos'' ("eyes-snatcher"). They are often associated with [[snake]]s, as in the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] name ''gwas-y-neidr'', "[[Vipera berus|adder]]'s servant".{{sfn|Corbet|1999|pp=559–561}} The [[Southern United States]] terms "snake doctor" and "snake feeder" refer to a folk belief that dragonflies catch insects for snakes or follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hand | first=Wayland D. | title=From Idea to Word: Folk Beliefs and Customs Underlying Folk Speech | journal=American Speech | volume=48 | issue=1/2 | pages=67–76 | year=1973 | doi=10.2307/3087894| jstor=3087894}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Newton |first=Blake |title=Dragonflies |url=https://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/dragonflies/dragonflies.htm |publisher=University of Kentucky Entomology |date=16 August 2008 |orig-year=2004}}</ref><!-- The [[Hungary|Hungarian]] name for dragonfly is ''szitakötő'' ("sieve-knitter").-->

The watercolourist [[Moses Harris]] (1731–1785), known for his ''The Aurelian or natural history of English insects'' (1766), published in 1780, the first scientific descriptions of several Odonata including the banded demoiselle, ''[[Calopteryx splendens]]''. He was the first English artist to make illustrations of dragonflies accurate enough to be identified to species (''Aeshna grandis'' at top left of plate illustrated), though his rough drawing of a nymph (at lower left) with the mask extended appears to be plagiarised.{{efn| Reviewing his artwork, the odonatologists [[Albert Orr]] and Matti Hämäläinen comment that his drawing of a 'large brown' (''[[Aeshna grandis]]'', top left of image) was "superb", while the "perfectly natural colours of the eyes indicate that Harris had examined living individuals of these aeshnids and either coloured the printed copper plates himself or supervised the colourists." However, they consider the nymph on the same plate far less good, "a very stiff dorso-lateral view of an aeshnid larva with mask extended. No attempt has been made to depict the eyes, antennae or hinge on the mask or labial palps, all inconceivable omissions for an artist of Harris' talent had he actually examined a specimen", and they suggest he copied it from [[August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof]].<ref name=Orr/>}}<ref name=Orr>{{cite journal |last1=Orr |first1=Albert G. |last2=Hämäläinen |first2=Matti |title=Plagiarism or pragmatism – who cares? An analysis of some 18th century dragonfly illustrations |journal=Agrion |date=July 2014 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=26–30 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265208677}}</ref>

More recently, dragonfly watching has become popular in America<!--and Europe--> as some birdwatchers seek new groups to observe.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Jill U. |title=Chasing Dragonflies and Damselflies |journal=Audubon |date=July 2012 |issue=July–August 2012 |url=https://www.audubon.org/magazine/july-august-2012/chasing-dragonflies-and-damselflies |access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref>

In [[heraldry]], like other winged insects, the dragonfly is typically depicted [[recursant|tergiant]] (with its back facing the viewer), with its head to chief (at the top).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://mistholme.com/dictionary/insects/ | title=Insects}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" mode="nolines">
File:Dragonfly amulet MET DP228725 (cropped).jpg|Faience [[amulet]]s from Memphite region, ancient Egypt Middle Kingdom, 12-13 Dynasty
File:Sikyatkibowlwithdragonfly.png|Dragonfly symbol on a [[Hopi]] bowl from [[Sikyátki]], Arizona, c. 1400–1625
File:Two dragonflies (Libellulæ species); adults and larva. Colou Wellcome V0022479EL.jpg|Accurately drawn dragonflies by [[Moses Harris]], 1780: At top left, the brown hawker, ''[[Aeshna grandis]]'' (described by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]); the nymph at lower left is shown with the "mask" extended.
File:After Kitagawa Utamaro 001.jpg|Woodcut on paper, after [[Kitagawa Utamaro]], 1788
File:Tiffany and Company - Vase - Walters 571706 - Profile.jpg|[[Tiffany & Co.]] [[Japonism]] vase with dragonfly handles, c. 1879, [[Walters Art Museum]]
File:Tiffany dragonfly hg.jpg|Tiffany dragonfly pendant lamp, designed c. 1903
File:Japanese - Tsuba with a Dragonfly - Walters 51254.jpg|Japanese ''[[tsuba]]'' with a dragonfly, 1931: [[Shibuichi]] with gold and silver, Walters Art Museum
</gallery>

=== In poetry and literature ===

[[Lafcadio Hearn]] wrote in his 1901 book ''A Japanese Miscellany''  that Japanese poets had created dragonfly ''haiku'' "almost as numerous as are the dragonflies themselves in the early autumn."<ref name="Waldbauer2009"/> The poet [[Matsuo Bashō]] (1644–1694) wrote ''haiku'' such as "Crimson pepper pod / add two pairs of wings, and look / darting dragonfly", relating the autumn season to the dragonfly.<ref name="MitchellLasswell2005">{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Forrest Lee |last2=Lasswell |first2=James |title=A Dazzle Of Dragonflies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C6g_0ibafjcC&pg=PA36 |year=2005 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-58544-459-5 |page=36}}</ref> [[Hori Bakusui]] (1718–1783) similarly wrote "Dyed he is with the / Colour of autumnal days, / O red dragonfly."<ref name="Waldbauer2009">{{cite book |last1=Waldbauer |first1=Gilbert |title=A Walk around the Pond: insects in and over the water |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3vFM3-52i0C&pg=PA247 |date=30 June 2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-04477-7 |page=247}}</ref>

The poet [[Lord Tennyson]], described a dragonfly splitting its old skin and emerging shining metallic blue like "[[sapphire]] [[chain mail|mail]]" in his 1842 poem "The Two Voices", with the lines "An inner impulse rent the veil / Of his old husk: from head to tail / Came out clear plates of sapphire mail."<ref name="Tennyson2013">{{cite book |last=Tennyson |first=Alfred, Lord |title=Delphi Complete Works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Illustrated) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWcbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT545 |date=17 November 2013 |publisher=Delphi Classics |isbn=978-1-909496-24-8 |pages=544–545}}</ref>

The novelist [[H. E. Bates]] described the rapid, agile flight of dragonflies in his 1937 nonfiction book<ref>{{cite web|title=Down the River|url=https://hebates.com/library/down-the-river|url-status=live|access-date=9 September 2021|website=H. E. Bates official author website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909102501/https://hebates.com/library/down-the-river |archive-date=2021-09-09 }}</ref> ''Down the River'':{{sfn|Powell|1999|page=7}}

{{Quote|I saw, once, an endless procession, just over an area of water-lilies, of small sapphire dragonflies, a continuous play of blue gauze over the snowy flowers above the sun-glassy water. It was all confined, in true dragonfly fashion, to one small space. It was a continuous turning and returning, an endless darting, poising, striking and hovering, so swift that it was often lost in sunlight.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Bates |first1=H. E. |title=Country Life: Pike and Dragonflies |magazine=The Spectator |date=12 February 1937 |issue=5668 |page=269 (online p. 17) |url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/12th-february-1937/17/country-life}}</ref>}}

=== In technology ===

A dragonfly has been [[genetically modified]] with light-sensitive "steering neurons" in its nerve cord to create a [[cyborg]]-like "DragonflEye". The [[neuron]]s contain [[gene]]s like those in the eye to make them sensitive to light. Miniature sensors, a computer chip, and a [[solar panel]] were fitted in a "backpack" over the insect's thorax in front of its wings. Light is sent down flexible light-pipes named optrodes{{efn|Optrode is a [[portmanteau word|portmanteau]] of "optical electrode".}} from the backpack into the nerve cord to give steering commands to the insect. The result is a "micro-aerial vehicle that's smaller, lighter and stealthier than anything else that's manmade".<ref name="Draper">{{cite web |title=Equipping Insects for Special Service |url=https://www.draper.com/news-releases/equipping-insects-special-service |publisher=Draper|date=19 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ackerman |first1=Evan |title=Draper's Genetically Modified Cyborg DragonflEye Takes Flight |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/drapers-genetically-modified-cyborg-dragonfleye-takes-flight |publisher=IEEE Spectrum |date=1 June 2017}}</ref>