[1] Dragonflies show a strange mating method. The male (bottom one) has special claspers at the end of the abdomen to grip at the thorax of the female (the upper blue one). Sperms flow from the male to a special storage receptacle located on the second abdominal segment of the female.
[2] Dragonfies (蜻蜓) are classified as follows :
Phylum Arthropoda 節肢動物(綱)
Class Insecta 昆蟲(門)
Order Odonata
Sub-order Anisoptera
[3] Hong Kong has a large variety of dragonflies. The fast fliers are predators and they are often brightly coloured. Dragonflies lay eggs in water, this fact has been observed and a phrase coined in Chinese as " 蜻蜓點水 ".
[4] The Order Odonata has two groups : dragonflies (蜻蜓) and damsel-flies(豆娘). To distinguish between them , the easiest way is to look at the position of the wings at rest : while both groups show transparent membranous wings, dragonflies hold their wings laterally like an aeroplane.
[5] <古今圖書集成> 第 528 冊 引李時珍釋名, " 其尾好高而挺故曰蜓 ".
<爾雅>釋蟲謂之 "蜻蛉", 六足四翼.
<博物志>云, "蜻蜓飲露", 本網頁作者未知真偽, 然其餘描述則大體正確,
" ...其翅輕薄如蟬, 晝取蚊蟲食之, 遇雨即多, 好集水上款飛, ..."
<清異錄>云後唐宮人愛其翠薄, 遂以描金筆塗翅, 又以金線籠貯養之,待上元賣花日, 售於游女.
蜻蜓眼大, 道家傳說可化青珠.....真乃浮想無邊......
This photograph was taken at the Tai Tam Reservoir region (HK) in early October 2001.