common_nature | (no subject)

This male brown hawker dragonfly was sitting in the middle of the cycle path. For once, actually really easy to identify. :) At first I thought it was dead and went to have a look so I could try and identify it when I got home. Bit morbid, maybe, but although we frequently see dragonflies where I live, they don't usually hold still long enough for identification. Turns out it wasn't dead, but it was definitely unwell. Just going about in tiny circles, seemingly unable to take off. So with much bravery (not keen on being up close and personal with large insects, really!) I chivvied him onto my fingers and moved him to the grassy border instead. I think maybe he was suffering in the heat, and being in the middle of an asphalt cycle path and apparently unable to leave it can't have helped. I imagine there must have been a lot of heat coming off there. Made him a little puddle with my water bottle as well. I don't know if that did him any good or not, though. I hope it did.

(click for a larger picture)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That was very kind of you. :) I hope he benefited from it!

I hope so too. Sadly, we will never know.

What a compassionate thing to do. Thank you for sharing this.

It was my pleasure. Both things. :)

Probably other critters will also enjoy the wee oasis.

Thanks for sharing this moment.

One could hope so. Unfortunately, we're having a terrible drought and unusually warm summer around these parts, so I imagine it was probably gone rather quickly.

=( Still, for any bugs or other critters that found it I'm sure it was a boon.

According to the rules of fairy tales, when the evil sorcerer sets you an impossible task, a swarm of hundreds of thousands of dragonflies will come to rescue you.

Oh cool! Luckily I've been attempting to make myself popular with dragonflies today. :)

Ha! I'd read this book!

I'm not a bug person either. Dragonflies are both amazing... and a bit terrifying, in their huge-ness.

Poor thing. If it was sick/injured, at least you put it out of the blazing heat. Thanks for sharing.

That was my thought. I'm trying not to consider the possibilty that all I accomplished was giving him a slower death... :/ Although, he would definitely have died if I hadn't done anything, either from the heat or being run over, so under all circumstances I think I gave him a chance. :)

That's all we can do sometimes. Compassion like that is never wasted, regardless of the outcome. God sees our hearts.

Fingers crossed it recovered, and well done for overcoming the aversion (sympathies - I love dragonflies but don't particularly want to pick them up) long enough to help.

I had to do it a couple of times to get him to a proper shadow-y safe place in the grass where he wasn't upside down. It's the fact that it weighed something that did it for me. Insects aren't supposed to weigh anything.

Aw, hopefully it's well and on happy adventures again. Given its size I can well understand your hesitation!

Yeah, it's the weight of it. You aren't supposed to be able to tell that it weighs something. :)