|
|
Article: Double life: dragonflies.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 30, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
THE dragonfly is the king of all it surveys - twice over. The shimmering creatures, hovering over water and then diving to seize their prey, are a familiar sight. The earthbound larvae from which they develop are less pretty, but just as predatory - at least as deadly as the adult dragonfly and a lot more alarming in appearance. They lurk in the mud at the bottom of streams and ponds, tiny tyrannosaurs that will eat small fish if they get the chance. When poor Tom the chimney sweep was reborn as a water baby in Charles Kingsley's fairy tale, a dragonfly larva was the only thing he saw that scared him.
The fact that dragonflies are top predators at both stages in their ...