I find it strange that some of the larger creepy-crawlies are less frightening than the small ones (dock spiders are an exception—those things are terrifying!)
Take dragonflies for example. They’re huge, but somehow so much less buggy than wasps, horse flies, or little moths (the big moths are neat—as long as they’re not moving).
Dragonflies are one of the more exciting forms of insect life we see at the cottage. For one thing, they’re some of the fastest insects in the world. And perhaps even better is that they’re not great at walking (which might remove them from the class of ‘creepy-crawlies’ into a different, less scary, flight-based category). They’re graceful and beautiful. As another bonus, they eat mosquitoes. So what’s not to love?
There are around 170 species of dragonflies and damselflies in Ontario. At my cottage, we only see a few dragonflies a year, but lots of blue damselflies.
For me, damselflies have a different sentimental value. I hardly ever see just one damselfly at a time. Maybe my cottage is a honeymoon destination for damselflies, but I only ever see them in that distinctly awkward mating position. Or is it just that the awkward mating position makes them a lot more visible? Either way, it’s always a sight to see the birds and the bees, and the bugs in action.
