Thanks so much, David. I would welcome dragonflies leading disarmament. And for whatever reason, I'm reminded of my friend Annie who disarmed a set of those little plastic toy American "army men" by simply cutting the rifles and pistols off of each one, out of their hands. Disarmed in this way, the little men then appeared instead to be dancing!
I *almost* put a picture of the prettiest orange-ish dragonfly in my last newsletter and decided against it but now wish I had! One of the other members of my wilderness trail crew and I watched it for a long time. (We might have been procrastinating getting back to work in the persistent rain but it was still a worthwhile way to spend time.)
What a lovely profile! And I agree wholeheartedly with the praise about your writing. It's truly unique among nature writing. 🦋 The new logo is just perfect.
We've got some classic orange dragonflies in the genus Perithemis (amberwings), but I don't think they get to MT. So yours was most likely one of the meadowhawks in the genus Sympetrum. Send a photo! Or iNat it! 😀
Not to be too much the well actually guy, but I think damselfly and dragonfly naiads have been observed to commit "surplus killing", though there are good reasons to think the behavior has adaptive value. Fincke, Ola M. "Population regulation of a tropical damselfly in the larval stage by food limitation, cannibalism, intraguild predation and habitat drying." Oecologia 100 (1994): 118-127, among other citations.
I don't think adults have been observed to do so--the competition in crowded habitats disappears and the efficiency of dragonfly/damselfly predation (plus I presume the high metabolic costs of their flight) gets rid of any adaptive reasons to surplus kill.
Thanks, Timothy. I'm grateful for the "well actually." I've read some of Fincke's work on sexual selection and conflict, and once met her in the field in Michigan, which was great. Can't recall that paper, but I'll most certainly check it out. Perhaps a qualifying "largely" would be in order in my post!
Aug 29, 2023·edited Aug 29, 2023Liked by Bryan Pfeiffer
When I was a child, my ever - tactful grandmother called them " devil's darning needles " which was apparently meant to keep the grandkids quiet, neat & orderly like we were in church. It was NOT 100 % effective. Not even 45 % effective. Beautiful creatures though. Graceful - looking.
Yes, here in "the West," they're sometimes associated with darker mythologies. As you probably know, in parts of Asia dragonflies are revered. In Japan, I've read, they can be symbols of courage and victory. And about now, when large numbers of certain dragonfly species appear, I believe it coincides with the time Buddhists believe ancestral spirits visit their homes.
There is an animated anime film ( more watchable than most anime ) called " Grave of the Fireflies ". I'm a bit surprised that it wasn't " Grave of the Dragonflies ", now that you mention it.
A wonderful piece and alumni spotlight. Thank you for sharing.
I loved this Boston Globe deputy editor Kelly Horan who recalls sitting up straighter and paying attention when Pfeiffer first submitted an essay. . . . Bryan has a beautiful gift,” she says. “He has managed the neat trick of emerging into adulthood with his sense of wonder fully formed. He sees things I think many people don’t even know exist.”
Thanks for reading, Ben. Yeah, I sorta lost it at Kelly's quote. That was so kind of her. She's a writer's dream: a tough editor who cares about ideas and words and details — someone I trust with my work.
Love the new logo! This makes me think of one of my all time favorite science class projects in middle school, in which I had to write a report about dragonflies and also made an enormous collage of one out of all kinds of colors of ripped magazine pages, glued onto a piece of cardboard. I don’t remember much about actual said report but I remember loving that visual interpretation. Which I guess is to say: yet another time when the beauty of nature captivates!
Oh, how I would have loved to have seen that collage of yours. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just the intrinsic nature of dragonflies, all their complexities, but they seem to warrant and wear well a kid's creativity, much more so than butterflies. Even though butterflies are relatively well-known and loved among insects, it just seems to me that dragonflies occupy more interesting terrain in art and in the zeitgeist. I dunno ... maybe that's the case? In any event, thanks, Anna!
Bryan, what a joy to find oneself mixed in amongst so much beauty and talent. My love & I were, just days ago, staring adoringly at your new logo. Kelly did a gorgeous job.
That’s an extremely powerful image, of Ken, and the dragonfly, and the machine gun. It’s a mighty fine haiku, as well.
And, what a fantastic profile! Dragonflies really are audacious! And, it probably goes without saying, but I am so very grateful that you are alive.
Thank you, again, for your generosity and your support. It makes all the fear & the struggle totally worth it, and, it’s an honour to be mentioned aside the great David E. Perry!
Thanks so much for reading, Carolyn. And I do tremendously value your opinion. But did I imply any antipathy to the title "Death & Birds"? If so, I did not mean to do that. Eek!
Hi Carolyn, I’m sorry to hear that you find the name off-putting. The issue is that everything I write is based around Death, or Birds, or both--so it being called anything else would feel a little disingenuous! I also want to ensure that it’s clear to people what the topics that I focus on are, before they dive in. The reason I focus on Death & Birds is because they’ve both served as my most profound teachers in life, and I’m keen to share what I’ve learned / am learning with anyone who might be interested. I touch a little on why it may be that we find ourselves in a culture where even the word Death can be felt as off-putting; you are of course most welcome if you ever find yourself interested, though I understand entirely if it’s not your thing 🙏🪶
I deduced from the context of Bryan's article and recommendation that your material offers valuable contribution to nature writing. And I guessed that it includes philosophical, thought-provoking content about life/death and birds, both of which interest me. But the title discouraged me from following through. I work in publishing, where title is crucial to attracting the desired readership. Yours immediately repelled me, not because of personal taste but because of instant visceral reaction: all I could think of was the heartbreaking ways birds are being decimated. I don't want to read more about that; I'm already bombarded by it from other sources, and it's deeply depressing. I'm sure I'm not the only person who might react that way. So IMO the title is counterproductive if you seek to invite more readers into awareness and discussion of the natural world, which is all about life and death, cycles and processes, and warrants deep thought. While your rationale for using the title is forthright, does it truly serve your purpose? I believe some brainstorming with pals and peers might come up with something that's still honest without being disingenuous, which will give readers an accurate idea of what to expect without turning them away.
So far, it is very much serving my purpose, yes. And I’m awfully fond of the name, so will be keeping it, but it’s always interesting to hear peoples opinions, so thank you for taking the time to share yours, Carolyn.
And I am so grateful, Chloe, that you are alive, and that you think and struggle and write with such beauty and honesty. And, oh, what I would give to hear you yourself read aloud some worthy essay of mine someday. (Come to think of it, perhaps your voice, your lilt, in its most pleasant connotations, could be a financially lucrative instrument.🤔💜. I shall send your and David's praise to Kelly. (She would not hesitate to bring art to a perfectly white duvet cover as well, as would I were I so talented.)
Bryan! Bless you, thank you, I can’t tell you how much it means to have someone who I’ve so much respect for appreciate what I’m doing. And, seriously, it would be the wildest honour for me to read aloud any and all of your work - just say the word, my voice is yours! Thank you for passing on our praises to Kelly. I am delighted to hear that she is of the unbound nature when it comes to her art 🕷♥️
I enjoy your writing but it mostly covers plants, animals and places unfamiliar to me. It was good to come across a species I know well enough by sight. That little purple damsel, or a close relative, is common enough on the Annamite streams. It is really metallic purple. No better way to describe the colour. If you bought metallic purple card in a craft shop, it would be that colour. It clings close to the stones and folds its wings tight when landed, looking almost like a stonefly. Then a pair of them will up and flutter when your boots disturb them.
Oh, this made my day. I've got readers in 75 countries, and I don't often enough reach them with relevant (or nearby) nature. I'm fascinated by your quest for Saola. I haven't yet read enough of your Substack (I'm WAY behind on my reading, as usual), but I'm wishing you well, and good fortune afield!
What a fun read. Just what my brain needed to wind down from the day and remember what’s important and good in this noisy world. (And your new logo is superb!)
Remembering the important and the good — words to live by. (Oh, and winding down the brain as well, which I generally do during short daily meditations.) Thanks, Kimberly!
We have a little pond and I’ve always been fascinated by watching dragonflies zoom around so skillfully that it would make an ace pilot wish he could do one tenth as well.
Co-author Stuart Burgess, professor of engineering design at the U of Bristol, describes in detail a 4 year project to develop an “insect-inspired micro air vehicle”. The inspiration? Dragonflies. They used a high speed camera to replay the wing motion 40 times slower, so they could see just how the wings flapped and twisted.
“We observed that, with every single stroke, there were two precise twisting actions taking place, one near the end of the upstroke and one near the end of the downstroke…we were also struck by how effortlessly and gracefully the dragonfly could manoeuvre. With perfect control, it could move forwards, backwards, hover, and even move sideways.”
He also tells about the dragonfly life cycle, which starts as an egg, then a bottom-dwelling nymph, then it climbs out of the water and morphs into a dragonfly.
“It is astounding to think that a dragonfly starts as a swimming creature, then briefly becomes a crawling creature (they climb up the stalk of a water plant to the surface) and then it becomes one with supreme flying abilities. That is like a submarine that is also an amphibious vehicle that can climb out of the water and then turn into a helicopter…the dragonfly is a creature whose design seems almost beyond human comprehension.”
Yes, indeed — so much to say and write about these amazing insects. I've heard it said that a dragonfly going from nymph to adult is like a snapping turtle becoming a falcon (or something like that). And they fly like nothing else on the wing, with incredible abilities to intercept prey.
Thanks so much, David. I would welcome dragonflies leading disarmament. And for whatever reason, I'm reminded of my friend Annie who disarmed a set of those little plastic toy American "army men" by simply cutting the rifles and pistols off of each one, out of their hands. Disarmed in this way, the little men then appeared instead to be dancing!
Thanks, Kimberley. Yeah, lots of beauty and meaning in these insects!
I *almost* put a picture of the prettiest orange-ish dragonfly in my last newsletter and decided against it but now wish I had! One of the other members of my wilderness trail crew and I watched it for a long time. (We might have been procrastinating getting back to work in the persistent rain but it was still a worthwhile way to spend time.)
What a lovely profile! And I agree wholeheartedly with the praise about your writing. It's truly unique among nature writing. 🦋 The new logo is just perfect.
Thanks so much, Nia. This means a lot to me.
We've got some classic orange dragonflies in the genus Perithemis (amberwings), but I don't think they get to MT. So yours was most likely one of the meadowhawks in the genus Sympetrum. Send a photo! Or iNat it! 😀
Start a dragonfly chat thread and we can all share!
A fine idea! I will do this tomorrow.
DONE! 😀 https://substack.com/chat/1191940
Not to be too much the well actually guy, but I think damselfly and dragonfly naiads have been observed to commit "surplus killing", though there are good reasons to think the behavior has adaptive value. Fincke, Ola M. "Population regulation of a tropical damselfly in the larval stage by food limitation, cannibalism, intraguild predation and habitat drying." Oecologia 100 (1994): 118-127, among other citations.
I don't think adults have been observed to do so--the competition in crowded habitats disappears and the efficiency of dragonfly/damselfly predation (plus I presume the high metabolic costs of their flight) gets rid of any adaptive reasons to surplus kill.
Thanks, Timothy. I'm grateful for the "well actually." I've read some of Fincke's work on sexual selection and conflict, and once met her in the field in Michigan, which was great. Can't recall that paper, but I'll most certainly check it out. Perhaps a qualifying "largely" would be in order in my post!
Love the logo. Seems dragonflies popped around here about a week ago. And I thought identifying birds was hard!!
I'm thinking about teaching a dragonfly seminar again. (It's been a while.) Chasing Nature's subscribers will hear about it first!
When I was a child, my ever - tactful grandmother called them " devil's darning needles " which was apparently meant to keep the grandkids quiet, neat & orderly like we were in church. It was NOT 100 % effective. Not even 45 % effective. Beautiful creatures though. Graceful - looking.
Yes, here in "the West," they're sometimes associated with darker mythologies. As you probably know, in parts of Asia dragonflies are revered. In Japan, I've read, they can be symbols of courage and victory. And about now, when large numbers of certain dragonfly species appear, I believe it coincides with the time Buddhists believe ancestral spirits visit their homes.
There is an animated anime film ( more watchable than most anime ) called " Grave of the Fireflies ". I'm a bit surprised that it wasn't " Grave of the Dragonflies ", now that you mention it.
I had noticed the new logo and the subtleties of the wings 🪶🌿👐 - love it! 💚
At some point, I'll post that dragonfly color video!
What a well-woven post. A pleasure to read and to ponder on. Thanks, Bryan.
Thanks so much, Terry. I miss you! I'll call soon!
A wonderful piece and alumni spotlight. Thank you for sharing.
I loved this Boston Globe deputy editor Kelly Horan who recalls sitting up straighter and paying attention when Pfeiffer first submitted an essay. . . . Bryan has a beautiful gift,” she says. “He has managed the neat trick of emerging into adulthood with his sense of wonder fully formed. He sees things I think many people don’t even know exist.”
Thanks for reading, Ben. Yeah, I sorta lost it at Kelly's quote. That was so kind of her. She's a writer's dream: a tough editor who cares about ideas and words and details — someone I trust with my work.
Love the new logo! This makes me think of one of my all time favorite science class projects in middle school, in which I had to write a report about dragonflies and also made an enormous collage of one out of all kinds of colors of ripped magazine pages, glued onto a piece of cardboard. I don’t remember much about actual said report but I remember loving that visual interpretation. Which I guess is to say: yet another time when the beauty of nature captivates!
Oh, how I would have loved to have seen that collage of yours. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just the intrinsic nature of dragonflies, all their complexities, but they seem to warrant and wear well a kid's creativity, much more so than butterflies. Even though butterflies are relatively well-known and loved among insects, it just seems to me that dragonflies occupy more interesting terrain in art and in the zeitgeist. I dunno ... maybe that's the case? In any event, thanks, Anna!
Bryan, what a joy to find oneself mixed in amongst so much beauty and talent. My love & I were, just days ago, staring adoringly at your new logo. Kelly did a gorgeous job.
That’s an extremely powerful image, of Ken, and the dragonfly, and the machine gun. It’s a mighty fine haiku, as well.
And, what a fantastic profile! Dragonflies really are audacious! And, it probably goes without saying, but I am so very grateful that you are alive.
Thank you, again, for your generosity and your support. It makes all the fear & the struggle totally worth it, and, it’s an honour to be mentioned aside the great David E. Perry!
Chloe--PLEASE change the name of your Substack presence as mentioned above in Bryan's piece -- "Death & Birds" is horribly offputting!
Thanks so much for reading, Carolyn. And I do tremendously value your opinion. But did I imply any antipathy to the title "Death & Birds"? If so, I did not mean to do that. Eek!
Hi Carolyn, I’m sorry to hear that you find the name off-putting. The issue is that everything I write is based around Death, or Birds, or both--so it being called anything else would feel a little disingenuous! I also want to ensure that it’s clear to people what the topics that I focus on are, before they dive in. The reason I focus on Death & Birds is because they’ve both served as my most profound teachers in life, and I’m keen to share what I’ve learned / am learning with anyone who might be interested. I touch a little on why it may be that we find ourselves in a culture where even the word Death can be felt as off-putting; you are of course most welcome if you ever find yourself interested, though I understand entirely if it’s not your thing 🙏🪶
I deduced from the context of Bryan's article and recommendation that your material offers valuable contribution to nature writing. And I guessed that it includes philosophical, thought-provoking content about life/death and birds, both of which interest me. But the title discouraged me from following through. I work in publishing, where title is crucial to attracting the desired readership. Yours immediately repelled me, not because of personal taste but because of instant visceral reaction: all I could think of was the heartbreaking ways birds are being decimated. I don't want to read more about that; I'm already bombarded by it from other sources, and it's deeply depressing. I'm sure I'm not the only person who might react that way. So IMO the title is counterproductive if you seek to invite more readers into awareness and discussion of the natural world, which is all about life and death, cycles and processes, and warrants deep thought. While your rationale for using the title is forthright, does it truly serve your purpose? I believe some brainstorming with pals and peers might come up with something that's still honest without being disingenuous, which will give readers an accurate idea of what to expect without turning them away.
So far, it is very much serving my purpose, yes. And I’m awfully fond of the name, so will be keeping it, but it’s always interesting to hear peoples opinions, so thank you for taking the time to share yours, Carolyn.
And I am so grateful, Chloe, that you are alive, and that you think and struggle and write with such beauty and honesty. And, oh, what I would give to hear you yourself read aloud some worthy essay of mine someday. (Come to think of it, perhaps your voice, your lilt, in its most pleasant connotations, could be a financially lucrative instrument.🤔💜. I shall send your and David's praise to Kelly. (She would not hesitate to bring art to a perfectly white duvet cover as well, as would I were I so talented.)
Bryan! Bless you, thank you, I can’t tell you how much it means to have someone who I’ve so much respect for appreciate what I’m doing. And, seriously, it would be the wildest honour for me to read aloud any and all of your work - just say the word, my voice is yours! Thank you for passing on our praises to Kelly. I am delighted to hear that she is of the unbound nature when it comes to her art 🕷♥️
I enjoy your writing but it mostly covers plants, animals and places unfamiliar to me. It was good to come across a species I know well enough by sight. That little purple damsel, or a close relative, is common enough on the Annamite streams. It is really metallic purple. No better way to describe the colour. If you bought metallic purple card in a craft shop, it would be that colour. It clings close to the stones and folds its wings tight when landed, looking almost like a stonefly. Then a pair of them will up and flutter when your boots disturb them.
Oh, this made my day. I've got readers in 75 countries, and I don't often enough reach them with relevant (or nearby) nature. I'm fascinated by your quest for Saola. I haven't yet read enough of your Substack (I'm WAY behind on my reading, as usual), but I'm wishing you well, and good fortune afield!
Thanks! I'd be happy if you took me off your to do list and just read the thing I just wrote.
Thank you for this! My favorite subject, dragonflies, and written so beautifully. And yes, the money spent on Substack subs is well worth it.
Thanks, Lisa. And thanks for supporting writers in so many ways!
What a fun read. Just what my brain needed to wind down from the day and remember what’s important and good in this noisy world. (And your new logo is superb!)
Remembering the important and the good — words to live by. (Oh, and winding down the brain as well, which I generally do during short daily meditations.) Thanks, Kimberly!
Bryan, I saw this last night and thought you might be interested. If you don't subscribe, I can make a PDF for you. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/08/29/shifting-baselines-maine-forests/
I had already just read that one, Ben. (Another reader had sent it to me.) But thanks! Important essay!
By the way, Bodhi probably rhymes with Odie (more formally Odin), who is the four-legged center of my universe.
from an earlier post in "My Two Cents" - https://alchristie.substack.com/p/engineers-get-their-inspiration-from
Dragonflies and “micro air vehicles”
We have a little pond and I’ve always been fascinated by watching dragonflies zoom around so skillfully that it would make an ace pilot wish he could do one tenth as well.
Co-author Stuart Burgess, professor of engineering design at the U of Bristol, describes in detail a 4 year project to develop an “insect-inspired micro air vehicle”. The inspiration? Dragonflies. They used a high speed camera to replay the wing motion 40 times slower, so they could see just how the wings flapped and twisted.
“We observed that, with every single stroke, there were two precise twisting actions taking place, one near the end of the upstroke and one near the end of the downstroke…we were also struck by how effortlessly and gracefully the dragonfly could manoeuvre. With perfect control, it could move forwards, backwards, hover, and even move sideways.”
He also tells about the dragonfly life cycle, which starts as an egg, then a bottom-dwelling nymph, then it climbs out of the water and morphs into a dragonfly.
“It is astounding to think that a dragonfly starts as a swimming creature, then briefly becomes a crawling creature (they climb up the stalk of a water plant to the surface) and then it becomes one with supreme flying abilities. That is like a submarine that is also an amphibious vehicle that can climb out of the water and then turn into a helicopter…the dragonfly is a creature whose design seems almost beyond human comprehension.”
Yes, indeed — so much to say and write about these amazing insects. I've heard it said that a dragonfly going from nymph to adult is like a snapping turtle becoming a falcon (or something like that). And they fly like nothing else on the wing, with incredible abilities to intercept prey.
Back in the 1970s, the CIA tried to model a listening device like a dragonfly -- it failed ("not operational," as they might say). https://www.cia.gov/legacy/museum/artifact/insectothopter/
But all sorts of research based on dragonfly aeronautics continues, including missile technology.