Indiana Camper Shares Video of Strange Dragonfly Behavior – Here’s What is Really Happening

My understanding of nature is pretty basic, pretty elementary - but, thanks to the internet and articles like this, I am learning more and more, usually about the weirder side of nature. Actually, I don't think "weird" is the right word to use, so I'll go with "interesting" instead. I enjoy having several weird/unusual/interesting nuggets of information at my disposal at any given time, in fact, I'm about to share one of those nuggets with you right now.

What Do You Know About Dragonflies?

I'll be honest, I don't know a lot about dragonflies. I know that they are very common around lakes, ponds, and other freshwater areas. I know that they look really cool, too. I always thought they looked like they could hurt me, but I learned at an early age that they don't have a stinger and they are relatively harmless to humans. They do have teeth, so they can, in theory, bite you if they feel threatened.

What In the World Is This Dragonfly Doing?

My first thought was that this dragonfly had lost its mind, but then I figured that dragonflies probably don't have much of a mind to begin with. I wondered if maybe the dragonfly felt threatened by the stump - like maybe the stump would leave after being repeatedly "attacked." I thought one other possibility is that this dragonfly was eating something on the stump. I don't think I've ever seen a dragonfly eat, so that seemed logical to me. I would have never guessed what was actually taking place.

That there dragonfly is laying some eggs. The female dragonfly is repeatedly dipping its tail in the water, depositing eggs each time. It turns out that little stump doesn't have anything to do with what's going on in the video.

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The Circle of Life

After doing a tiny bit of research, I have learned (thanks to wpb.org) that dragonfly eggs hatch within a few weeks. Little baby dragonflies (nymphs) will end up living underwater for two to three years before they become adults. Adult dragonflies - the ones we see flying around - only live for about four months, but before they die, they mate, they lay eggs, and start the process all over again.

See, useless knowledge that might just impress your friends someday. You're welcome.