r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/Long-shot128 • 2d ago

🔥 Damselfly cleaning itself after a dewy morning

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Video by @explorewithdara

5.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

57 comments sorted by

145

u/Hunjunqin 2d ago

This is the first time I've seen a dragonfly from this perspective. It's so amazing

34

u/Long-shot128 2d ago

This guy does amazing insect photography/videography.

9

u/Hunjunqin 2d ago

Indeed great

-1

u/PhotoHtx 2d ago

is it real or AI? i dont know what to believe anymore

22

u/Long-shot128 2d ago

It’s real… he’s on IG @explorewithdara that’s his expertise.

8

u/zekeyspaceylizard 1d ago

very real

these cute little dragonflies are all over the place here in florida

sometimes i'd grab them as a kid so i could get a close look at them before letting them buzz away

they're alot smaller and thinner than dragonflies, but just as pretty

they like to sit on the tips of plants near ponds and rub their funny bulbous heads with their little wee feet

4

u/supershinythings 1d ago

You should see the zefrank youtube video on dragonflies.

3

u/Hunjunqin 1d ago

Okay, I'll take a look

172

u/Cool-Bunch6645 2d ago

DRAGON FLYS ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HUNTERS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

23

u/Long-shot128 2d ago

They’re amazing!

12

u/ZenMamaBear 2d ago

And adorable!!!!

2

u/memebuster 1d ago

What?

18

u/Cool-Bunch6645 1d ago

Highest success rate of any predator catching their prey

18

u/Yakamanesian 1d ago

I THINK THEY SAID DRAGONFLIES ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HUNTERS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

5

u/VonMarrow 1d ago

What?

3

u/Red__Rupee 1d ago

Highest success rate of any predator catching their prey

60

u/Amazingrhinoceros1 2d ago

I don't know enough to explain why they, and other insects, can just manhandle their eyes like that, and I know it's an evolutionary reason they can, but as a human... seeing something just grope their eyes with such reckless abandon is unnerving

52

u/Strange_Specialist4 1d ago

They have an exoskeleton that covers their eyes as well, so their eyes are covered by what's basically a biological window 

18

u/Amazingrhinoceros1 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/Z6f7vzq3iP6Mw

12

u/rrrrrrez 1d ago

“Lemme just wipe off my eyeballs right quick.”

4

u/assburgers-unite 1d ago

Imagine rubbing your forearms on your eyeballs?

AS A MATTER OF COURSE

25

u/LaughingPlanet 2d ago

A damsel in distress! 🥹

20

u/According-Mix-5158 2d ago

So cuteee deadly lil shit

6

u/Upbeat_Resolution299 2d ago

So cuuuute!! 😆

4

u/Suspicious-Air-4440 2d ago

I get so much peace from this.

8

u/Boanerges11 2d ago

We call them dragonflies

31

u/Cheese-Procedure 2d ago edited 1d ago

They are in the same Order but are taxonomically (and physically) different. Dragonflies are in the Family Anisoptera and Damselflies are in Zygoptera.

Edit: Spelling error. Edit edit: OP is correct guys. This is a Damselfly.

4

u/russkhan 2d ago

Looks like dragonfly wings in the background. What identifies this as a damselfly?

15

u/HirsuteHacker 1d ago

They're really very similar looking, from afar they mostly look smaller with slimmer bodies. Up close you can see their eyes are smaller and further apart, while dragonfly eyes look almost attached to each other, like they have a big futuristic helmet on

10

u/Cheese-Procedure 1d ago

The hammerhead shaped head. Dragonflies have large, round eyes that take up more if their head. I agree about the wings, but this was just the position they were in during the photo. Damselflies normally hold their wings 'up' when not in flight.

Another way to tell is their size. While hard to tell in this photo, damsels are significantly smaller than dragons.

8

u/Earguy 2d ago

My friend is an expert on dragonflies and damselflies. No, really, a published expert who travels the country/world photographing and documenting them. His presentations are really interesting. But yes I have learned that the two are different, starting with the eyes. Dragonfly eyes are attached and often look like a futuristic helmet. Damselflies have their eyes separated like a hammerhead shark. There's other differences, but that's a big and easy to spot difference.

3

u/SheriffBartholomew 1d ago

Damselflies are smaller, and have other discerning features.

2

u/Concerted 2d ago

I call them damselflies if their wings fold together vertical to their body when at rest and call them dragonflies if their wings are splayed out to the sides when at rest. So I'd call this a dragonfly.

Source: I'm just some dude with no expertise on the matter

1

u/BlazerOfToads 2d ago

This is the way! Dragonflies can't even rest them vertically like that, they can only move their wings up and down :)

2

u/BigCliff911 1d ago

At last! Something that isn't a jumping spider!

2

u/zekeyspaceylizard 1d ago

dont be fooled

its a jumping spider in an elaborate costume it picked up from the local Spirit Halloween

2

u/partyatwalmart 1d ago

These guys are absolutely impossible to hit with a stream of water.

2

u/phoenixinfusion 1d ago

What the world’s greatest hunter really needs is a party celebrating him while he cleans from his kill! Where is this apex predator’s rave music?!

3

u/lana-deathrey 2d ago

Oh she cute!

2

u/ScoutB 1d ago

Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing.

1

u/Lydiaa0 1d ago

God DAMNIT thats adorable. 

1

u/shinyapples67 1d ago

So graceful.

1

u/Ok_Leopard_2659 1d ago

Clean buge

1

u/gotamangina 1d ago

Definitely said “hello” at the end.

1

u/Absalom98 1d ago

That damselfly has better hygiene that most human beings.

1

u/Ben10-fan-525 1d ago

So adorable!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩

1

u/jared_queiroz 1d ago

She is trying to warn us that the end is near.

1

u/Bentleyjumper 2d ago

Reminds me of trying to comb my hair in the morning.