Winged Defenders

The summer heat has arrived here in central NC, and with it... the insects.  I was out watering my plants this evening, trying to make up for the fact that we've suddenly hit a dry and hot spell, when I noticed how dramatically the six-legged population has increased -- especially the most annoying varieties. 

Then, a team of acrobatic flyers came to my rescue. 

While I watered plants, battling the insects whining and buzzing over my head, the dragonflies did their part -- diving and swooping and generally terrorizing (I hope) the less-desirable winged pests.  Multiple dragonflies swarmed the air, but two in particular stayed near me for some time, and I snapped a few pictures of each.  I researched them after I returned inside, and identified them as a male and female whitetail dragonfly.  The male features the dramatic white tail; the female's wings appear more delicate, and her tail is more subtly colored.    

I'm not usually one to praise an insect, except to acknowledge the role they play as pollinators or bird food, but the dragonfly is an exception.  Perhaps because they've been much maligned in cultural lore, or mistaken for a (human-)biting insect, I feel a partiality to them.  Masters of flight, bearers of intricate and detailed wing designs, carnivorous feeders with a particular appetite for mosquitoes -- what's not to like?  Yet, in Europe and Australia, the dragonfly has traditionally been seen as evil, with multiple unmerited connections to the devil, witches, and snakes.

In Japanese culture, however, the dragonfly is highly revered, and is symbolic of happiness, good luck, strength, and victory.  I remember when I first learned this fact; it was in Seattle's Pike Place market, where I bought a matching set of hand-painted nature scenes from an Asian vendor.  He informed me that I did well to choose the set with the dragonflies, as they would bring good luck to my home.  I frequently stop and look at the dragonflies in those paintings -- they are depicted as small ornamental insects, not the focus of the work, but complementary to the eye-pleasing scene.  

Now, I'm far too practical to be superstitious, but I couldn't help but feel that the pair of dragonflies keeping me company today were a good omen.  It may have been because they posed so prettily for their photos, perching frequently near me.  Perhaps I felt as though I had two winged protectors, defending me from the onslaught of those newly-hatched, blood-lusting creatures out there.  Once in a while, you just need someone on your side -- someone who will stick with you, when you feel a thousand little troubles whispering in your head, or when you feel the sting of a personal defeat.  And if that someone comes in the shape of a whitetailed dragonfly on a hot summer evening, so be it.  They're beautiful, and they haven't much to say. 

Sometimes, that makes the perfect garden companion.