green darner dragonfly Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

The Green Darner Dragonfly Is a Mosquito Hawk

The green darner dragonfly (Anax junius) is common across North America and is the state insect of Washington. It is one of 5,000 dragonfly species but has some unique properties that make it a “mosquito hawk.”

The green darner dragonfly gets its name from its long, thin, needle-like body that resembles a darning needle. These dragonflies begin life as eggs in quiet, fresh water. The female attaches the eggs to plants underwater. She will drop them into shallow water if there are no plants available. Eventually, the eggs hatch into a nymph stage.

The green darner dragonfly can stay in the nymph stage for a few days or as long as four years until it attaches itself to a plant above water. Then, an adult dragonfly will emerge in a few days and leave behind the nymph skin, called the exuvia.

The adult dragonfly’s primary food is mosquitos, devouring vast numbers of them. The design of the green darner dragonfly’s two huge compound eyes consists of thousands of telescopic lenses, giving it a 360-degree field of view. It also has three simple eyes, which all work together. The individually powered wings are two inches long, allowing the insect to hover or travel in a straight line at roughly 10 miles per hour.

If weather becomes an issue, green darner dragonflies will migrate south, as monarch butterflies do, producing offspring in Mexico, the Caribbean, or the southern United States. Like monarch butterflies, the offspring of the green darner dragonflies will fly back to the north, but unlike monarchs, they eat vast numbers of mosquitoes as they travel.

These multi-generational insect migrations show system design. One generation does not live long enough to complete the migration, and the insects can’t teach their eggs and larvae what to do and where to go. The migrations benefit the balance of nature in the various ecosystems more than the insects themselves. Mere chance is not an adequate explanation. We suggest that the green darner dragonfly is another evidence of a Creator.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Linda Weiford in The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington.

Migrations and Winter Adaptations — Monarch Butterfly

There are many things about fall that make it an interesting time of year. It is not just the colors and the cool and pleasant temperatures that make fall special. We also see migrations and winter adaptations.

Bird migrations are amazing, with some species using unique wind patterns to make the journey across the Caribbean. Other birds that spend summers in our area, such as loons, congregate in groups in Florida in the winter.

The most amazing migrations, however, are the smaller forms of life. For example, green darner dragonflies spend the winter in Florida and the Caribbean, where they mate and produce offspring. When the average temperature warms to about 48 degrees F, these offspring fly 900 miles to the north, where they breed, lay eggs, and die. When the eggs hatch, they spend the summer in Canada or Michigan. In the fall, these third-generation individuals return to Florida flying some 900 miles (1500 km) or more over a route that they have never seen before.

When we consider migrations and winter adaptations, we can’t overlook monarch butterflies. They are the most amazing of these multi-generational migrants, with fourth-generation butterflies making a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) flight. There are also insects and amphibians with a blood protein that acts like antifreeze, allowing them to be frozen solid without damaging their cells.

There seems to be no limit to the way animals can adapt to winter, and sometimes these adaptations change. In our area, Canada geese used to all migrate to southern latitudes to spend the winter. With the advent of power plants that keep some rivers and lakes free of ice, that has changed. A sizable population of Canada geese remains in our area of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota all winter long. We have had as many as 200 geese crowding open water near a power plant in the St. Joseph River during the coldest days of winter. That didn’t happen in 1959 when I moved to this area.

These patterns of migration and winter adaptations are difficult to explain as accidental. It would seem that the animals have had a designed genetic program to allow them to survive. The design is fascinating, and the Designer is even more amazing. We praise God as we watch the magic of migrations and winter adaptations.

Data from “On Nature” by Sheryl Myers, The Herald Bulletin, October 3, 2020 page B3.