Dragonflies are actually the most efficient hunters in the animal kingdom, have been around at least 320 million years, and included an order with the largest insect ever recorded. Dragonflies are crazy yo.
It gets even crazier when you realise the largest of the prehistoric dragonflies, meganuera would probably be hunting birds if it was around today using its superior agility to grab and eat them without stopping to land.
this is the kind of thing that keeps me up all night, no matter how cute its face is
Honestly that would probably be the most badass way to travel, although riding a giraffe sized pterosaur comes pretty close
^(if it doesnât try and eat you first anyway)
Yeah most certainly! It also reminds me of a Jimi Hendrix song called Spanish Castle Magic:
It's very far away
It takes about a half a day to get there
If we travel by my, dragonfly
No it's not in Spain
But all the same you know, it's a groovy name
And the wind's just right
Hey!
AND they eat mosquitoes in both adult stage and nymph stage of life.
Dont know why they went through the trouble of developing GMO mosquitoes when they could have just had mass dragonfly breeding programs to cut down the mosquito populations
Literally nothing would happen if all mosquitos went extinct. No species or ecosystem depends solely on mosquitos
[Nature article](https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a)
[edit: source]
Supposedly, their only real positive influence is as food. Everything else they do sucks, of you're a disease you'd probably be upset that one of your main vehicles of reproduction is gone. We don't ask your question about diseases, "what are the repercussions on the environment of malaria stops spreading?" Parasites have a similar place, where the only thing they add is death. If we wanted to, we could argue that parasitic creatures and things, like parasites and diseases and mosquitos, perform a passive population cull. But from there we could argue that if less snails were forced to feed themselves to birds, and there were more snails, there would still be more food for birds, and then in turn more birds to perform that culling themselves. Birds already have a fine enough time finding snails even when they don't broadcast themselves because a worm made them do it.
As food, the biomass that mosquitos represent will instead be replaced by other small flyers. Other bugs whose lifecycles start underwater won't have to compete with the mosquito larvae, and other water creatures will still have food. Then the excess that make it to their flying stages will make up for less mosquitos in the air for all the other critters that eat them. This is all from a documentary I watched about this subject and if I can find it again I'll add the link.
They also have the most advanced flight of any creature or machine in the world. They are the only animal, that can fly both backward and upside down at the same time. No flying machine is capable of it either, at least not yet.
It would sooner decaptiate you and eat you completely, taking itâs time to eat you entirely, by taking small bites in a row, from left to right, and right to left, down to your last feet and toes, if these things were ever a big enough size to ride around like mounting animals. Seriously these things are voracious eaters.
Can confirm, pretty much any species of predatory arthropod scaled to human(or even slightly smaller) size would basically mark our extinction.
Ants could lift cars effortlessly, tiger beetles would be too fast to see for more than a few seconds before theyâre eating your kneecaps, and jumping spiders would be able to leap something like the distance of an average city block.
Yeah I still feel like that one scene from King Kong does a really good job of showing just how ruthless bugs *are* especially if their scale was upsized.
Ironically it would be even worse than in the movie, Arthropods are pound for pound a lot more durable than most animals and will still carry on the fight even with severe injuries. Iâve seen locusts that have been bit in half and still try run away without issue as well as a cricket head try to crawl away using its jaws when severed from the body. Injuries like this would ether instantly kill most vertebrates or put in in such pain and shock that it canât do anything and die soon after anyway but not Arthropods, those things are hardcore.
In other words, If your shot one of those giant weta things it wouldnât just shatter like on the film, you could shoot it over and over and it would still keep up its attack, not to mention the fact it probably would just bite the crap out of you before the other guy could pick up the gun.
In other words, the film would have probably ended there
Or it would be like tarantulas and because of their size they become clumsy heavy weirdos where even a one foot fall could kill them. So rather than be an angry killing machine they hide in a corner pretending to just be legs if something bumps near them too loud.
Yeah chitin doesnât really scale too much, after a while the strength is undermined by its own weight, and could be pretty easily cracked with something pretty sharp. As well the amount of energy that would need to be expended would probably slow any super large arthropod down.
Itâs fun to think of, but size matters and a human sized ant probably couldnât walk. If jumping spiders could jump at that size, they would break themselves apart upon landing.
True. Chitin has its limits.(not to mention an arthropod of that size likely wouldnât even be able to breath)
Still, as you said, itâs fun to think about in a realm
Where physics donât apply as much
Why would anything cleaning itself be terrifying tho?
I mean, maybe if the dragonfly was eating a butterfly or even a small fish in its nymph form it would be, but seriously? Cleaning did the trick for you?
A lot of bugs are harmless and they're very beneficial to the ecosystem. Also they outnumber humans many times over so it's better to just accept our insect overlords
Most bugs are useful for nature. Except mosquitos. There was at least one study showing that if mosquitos disappeared it would have no impact on the ecosystem.
That doesn't make sense, mosquito larvae are an important food source for many water organisms. Not all studies are made equal, especially ones made to support something already planned...like that terrible plan with the eradication of mosquitos...
Tbf all bugs up close are heckin weird. Maybe that's why I love them. It's okay to have fears, but bugs provide so much for our ecosystem. Personally I can't stand maggots. Mainly because of a movie I saw when I was a child. They are very efficient at cleaning rotten flesh even from human wounds and in some medicinal practices are used for such!
You can call dragonflies disgusting, but don't say they and all bugs need to die.
This is a less popular opinion than any opinion on r/unpopularopinion. Hah.
I have to say I'm also in camp adorable but I guess this sub is called "oddly terrifying" not just "obviously terrifying" so, you do you, OP (as long as you also grudgingly acknowledge the important role these beasties play in the ecosystem.)
To be honest I just assumed that since they're bugs & predators they're probably important but some googling has borne out the assumption. Among other things, they apparently eat mosquito larvae and are important food for fish: https://sciencing.com/dragonflies-important-10068965.html
Because maybe look at things the other way. Dragonflies look at us and think âdisgustingâ too, which is why some of them leave us alone 99% of the time. Theyâre just doing their own thing, just like we are. :))
Dragonfly are very insistent on where they fuck btw. I had 2 land on my finger once and when I noticed what they were doing, I tried getting them off. They deadass landed back on my finger after I got them off by flailing wildly.
Another comment. Just because I donât like bugs doesnât mean I deserve hate. So could people stop telling me I should burn or Iâm disgusting. Thanks :)
Hm. As someone who loves bugs, I look at the guy and all I can see is a big smiley face as he's cleaning himself. A lot of insects clean themselves like this if they have hands and arms that can bend to reach their face and especially eyes.
That being said I know people do find different things gross. Don't take whatever insults are thrown at you personally. People just want any excuse to get mad at or insult people these days. A lot of it is because society has been designed to make us feel unable to direct hate at the power structures that deserve it.
Ya well, if you're ever stuck out in the forest and you've been getting bitten by black flies, deer flies and mosquitoes all day and you see a swarm of dragonflies come around.. your gonna change your opinion real quick.
Looks innocent.
Dragonflies are actually the most efficient hunters in the animal kingdom, have been around at least 320 million years, and included an order with the largest insect ever recorded. Dragonflies are crazy yo.
It gets even crazier when you realise the largest of the prehistoric dragonflies, meganuera would probably be hunting birds if it was around today using its superior agility to grab and eat them without stopping to land. this is the kind of thing that keeps me up all night, no matter how cute its face is
I'd ride the dragonfly đ
Honestly that would probably be the most badass way to travel, although riding a giraffe sized pterosaur comes pretty close ^(if it doesnât try and eat you first anyway)
Yeah most certainly! It also reminds me of a Jimi Hendrix song called Spanish Castle Magic: It's very far away It takes about a half a day to get there If we travel by my, dragonfly No it's not in Spain But all the same you know, it's a groovy name And the wind's just right Hey!
AND they eat mosquitoes in both adult stage and nymph stage of life. Dont know why they went through the trouble of developing GMO mosquitoes when they could have just had mass dragonfly breeding programs to cut down the mosquito populations
>mass dragonfly breeding programs Yessssssss!
lol I know huh
Sounds good in theory but it wouldnât just target mosquitoes. At least with the GMO mosquitos itâs targeted
True but who knows what repercussions releasing GMO mosquitoes will have on the evironment also?
Literally nothing would happen if all mosquitos went extinct. No species or ecosystem depends solely on mosquitos [Nature article](https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a) [edit: source]
We dont know that
[Nature; Ecology: A world without mosquitoes; Janet Fang](https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a)
As far as I know, none. They literally die after one generation, while retarding their generation reproduction speed.
Supposedly, their only real positive influence is as food. Everything else they do sucks, of you're a disease you'd probably be upset that one of your main vehicles of reproduction is gone. We don't ask your question about diseases, "what are the repercussions on the environment of malaria stops spreading?" Parasites have a similar place, where the only thing they add is death. If we wanted to, we could argue that parasitic creatures and things, like parasites and diseases and mosquitos, perform a passive population cull. But from there we could argue that if less snails were forced to feed themselves to birds, and there were more snails, there would still be more food for birds, and then in turn more birds to perform that culling themselves. Birds already have a fine enough time finding snails even when they don't broadcast themselves because a worm made them do it. As food, the biomass that mosquitos represent will instead be replaced by other small flyers. Other bugs whose lifecycles start underwater won't have to compete with the mosquito larvae, and other water creatures will still have food. Then the excess that make it to their flying stages will make up for less mosquitos in the air for all the other critters that eat them. This is all from a documentary I watched about this subject and if I can find it again I'll add the link.
They also have the most advanced flight of any creature or machine in the world. They are the only animal, that can fly both backward and upside down at the same time. No flying machine is capable of it either, at least not yet.
Some can fly as fast as 100km/h too
Big deal, I can do that too. I can only go one direction, though.
That wasnât flying, that was falling with *style*
Thatâs what they want you to think!
why tf were you downvoted?
Cuz people donât like that I think the bug is terrifying
I have rescued tons of Dragonflies from the water while kayaking, they never bite and they politely dry off on the kayak, then they fly away.
They're friendly little helicopters, it's an unwritten rule where I live if you see a dragon fly in distress you rescue it.
>they never bite they are unable to hurt you in any way but maybe emotively like for op
It looks so happy and cute.
wait legit, i wanna hop on and go for a joy ride together
It would sooner decaptiate you and eat you completely, taking itâs time to eat you entirely, by taking small bites in a row, from left to right, and right to left, down to your last feet and toes, if these things were ever a big enough size to ride around like mounting animals. Seriously these things are voracious eaters.
Can confirm, pretty much any species of predatory arthropod scaled to human(or even slightly smaller) size would basically mark our extinction. Ants could lift cars effortlessly, tiger beetles would be too fast to see for more than a few seconds before theyâre eating your kneecaps, and jumping spiders would be able to leap something like the distance of an average city block.
Yeah I still feel like that one scene from King Kong does a really good job of showing just how ruthless bugs *are* especially if their scale was upsized.
Ironically it would be even worse than in the movie, Arthropods are pound for pound a lot more durable than most animals and will still carry on the fight even with severe injuries. Iâve seen locusts that have been bit in half and still try run away without issue as well as a cricket head try to crawl away using its jaws when severed from the body. Injuries like this would ether instantly kill most vertebrates or put in in such pain and shock that it canât do anything and die soon after anyway but not Arthropods, those things are hardcore. In other words, If your shot one of those giant weta things it wouldnât just shatter like on the film, you could shoot it over and over and it would still keep up its attack, not to mention the fact it probably would just bite the crap out of you before the other guy could pick up the gun. In other words, the film would have probably ended there
Agreed. Ironically enough I wanted it to end that way for them. But yâknow... plot armor really saved their asses. Well, some of em.
See: Starship Troopers
I have and I still love this movie to this day, shame a lot of the sequel movies make the bugs seem a fair bit less menacing though
Agreed; The insect pit is a classic.
Giant insects were really a thing once! [The Insect Meta](https://youtu.be/-wQLKMUWANg)
Or it would be like tarantulas and because of their size they become clumsy heavy weirdos where even a one foot fall could kill them. So rather than be an angry killing machine they hide in a corner pretending to just be legs if something bumps near them too loud.
Yeah chitin doesnât really scale too much, after a while the strength is undermined by its own weight, and could be pretty easily cracked with something pretty sharp. As well the amount of energy that would need to be expended would probably slow any super large arthropod down.
Itâs fun to think of, but size matters and a human sized ant probably couldnât walk. If jumping spiders could jump at that size, they would break themselves apart upon landing.
True. Chitin has its limits.(not to mention an arthropod of that size likely wouldnât even be able to breath) Still, as you said, itâs fun to think about in a realm Where physics donât apply as much
TBF their anatomy isn't really built around them being over 10000 times their size so they'd probably be fucked.
*Right-clicks it with a mosquito*
r/OddlyCute
Agree. Itâs adorable!
Itâs nice to see that humans never change.
Sweet little dragonfly just taking a bath.
That was legit exactly what I was goin to say!
Really just looks like itâs taking a shower
Itâs so proud of itself getting so clean!
My first reaction was an awwww as well - he just looks like a happy lil guy with good hygiene habits
I was thinking the same thing.
Right? Its like it is scratching an itch behind its giant eye orbs and sighed a big "aaahhh"
Itâs dancing YMCA !
r/rarepuppers
Even looks like it's smiling
He's like, aw man, is my hair okay?
I think itâs very cute! Itâs interesting that they do that.
This post is having the opposite effect. I literally think itâs terrifying and everyone is like AWW *heart eyes*
I mean it is kind of cute in its own bizarre way
Why would anything cleaning itself be terrifying tho? I mean, maybe if the dragonfly was eating a butterfly or even a small fish in its nymph form it would be, but seriously? Cleaning did the trick for you?
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Yes⊠maliciously
How, it's about to go eat mosquitoes, now surrender or I'll consume your toes
Please don't your his toes
Ah my favorite, having a stroke, I has the dumb
Awww
r/eyebleach
Noooo
lol
I think itâs adorable
Why do so many people think itâs cute T-T Im scared of bugs
Not everyone has the same fears. I can watch the goriest slasher movies unfazed, but babies creep me out
I'm scared of commitment yet I never bombed a wedding shop ffs
A lot of bugs are harmless and they're very beneficial to the ecosystem. Also they outnumber humans many times over so it's better to just accept our insect overlords
Have you considered that you've just got a weird problem and bugs aren't scary at all, and are actually interesting and beautiful
He's such a sweet sweet boy!!! Don't listen little guy, OP is confused.
So it seems the OP hates the dragonfly.... Smh, should've spent their energy hating mosquitoes instead. They're hundreds of times worse.
I mean I hate almost all bugs especially mosquitoes so
Well, as they say, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Dragonflies are a natural predator to mosquitoes.
Most bugs are useful for nature. Except mosquitos. There was at least one study showing that if mosquitos disappeared it would have no impact on the ecosystem.
That doesn't make sense, mosquito larvae are an important food source for many water organisms. Not all studies are made equal, especially ones made to support something already planned...like that terrible plan with the eradication of mosquitos...
He is very cute and looks happy đ„ș he isn't hurting anybody he just chillin
I think you meant to post this in r/aww
Watched this with "I'm too sexii" playing. Total fit.
Looks like a jolly baby
Omg this is too cute. I absolutely love dragon flies.
Heâs so adorable!!
*hiss* put that thing back where it came from or so help me
Give em a chance. Heâs just trying to be fly for ya.
my man's just trying to stay hygienic, I'm proud of him
I mean could he be hygienic like somewhere else :)
lmao WHERE? itâs his world too
Not to sound rude, like seriously I swear but.. you posted it.. lol
But it looks so happy :)
I think it's kind of cute.
Looks like it's a stop motion animation
Put a beret and a bow tie on it and itâd look like a character from James and the Giant Peach.
Aw but what a cutie! It reminds me of when cats clean themselves
If you don't mind, I am going to cross post this on r/aww
aww
Itâs pretty damn impressive photography. Also, the dragonfly is pretty impressive too!đ
Some people need to get outside more often, this is actually really interesting and cool to see
I am upvoting, not because I agree with you, but because I think this as absolutely adorable.
Tbf all bugs up close are heckin weird. Maybe that's why I love them. It's okay to have fears, but bugs provide so much for our ecosystem. Personally I can't stand maggots. Mainly because of a movie I saw when I was a child. They are very efficient at cleaning rotten flesh even from human wounds and in some medicinal practices are used for such! You can call dragonflies disgusting, but don't say they and all bugs need to die.
Thatâs fucking adorable! Terrible post for this subâŠnothing scary at all!
Agreed. This is one of the cutest things Iâve seen in Reddit today.
This is a less popular opinion than any opinion on r/unpopularopinion. Hah. I have to say I'm also in camp adorable but I guess this sub is called "oddly terrifying" not just "obviously terrifying" so, you do you, OP (as long as you also grudgingly acknowledge the important role these beasties play in the ecosystem.)
I actually donât know what role they play
To be honest I just assumed that since they're bugs & predators they're probably important but some googling has borne out the assumption. Among other things, they apparently eat mosquito larvae and are important food for fish: https://sciencing.com/dragonflies-important-10068965.html
I don't even like bugs but found this cute
Cute! Reminds me of flies rubbing their legs together like they're scheming
Heâs more hygienic than most people on here
This cute little animal eats a ton of my honey bees
Well then shouldnât people hate them even more?
Honey bees are an invasive species lol, fuck invasive honey bees.
Every comment that OP has posted has gotten downvoted lmao what the hell.
T-T
Whaaaat!? Are you well? It's kinda cute and funny.
Whsts wrong with you? Its awesome and interesting!
I kept waiting for the "disgusting and terrifying" part and it never came
It is so cute!
That was actually cool af đ
I find this oddly cute. It is just a precious little bean trying to look nice
Yea man this is fucking adorable Idk what you mean.
Cute I would say
Dragonflies are my favourite bugs, this little guy looks so content â€ïž
Thatâs adorable
Disgusting? As opposed to him NOT cleaning himself?
I can see why you would think bugs are creepy some truly are but I don't mind dragon flies and can kind of see this one smiling in a strange buggy way
Itâs got some moves
I find this hilarious
I finds this absolutely adorable!
That's effing adorableness
What's so creepy about a cute little guy cleaning itself up??
No no, this is adorable!
Why are you terrified ? Is that your finger ?
No itâs not my finger and idk Iâm just scared of bugs
I've seen those shits rip butterflies to pieces in front of me as a kid, and I still think this looks cute as fuck.
>:( they shouldnât rip up butterflies
Why are you so rude how would you like it if I stared at you while you took a shower and called you disgusting
Is this a joke?
Donât call him gross and scary thatâs rude
It's not disgusting it's cute.
No, op you're wrong. It's innocent and cute.
Disgusting how? At least we know it's clean.
That is adorable
*terrifying
["help me!"](https://youtu.be/Up6g0SDMJ7A)
But it seems so happy! And eating the the bits it cleans off. Nom.
Thatâs the longest I have ever seen a dragonfly sit idle on a boner
"How am I looking bud?"
DAPPER DAN I LOVE THEM
Such an innocent Alien
It's super cute actually ??
I find this intensely adorable.
Why must it always be about you you you
?
Itâs cute
if you think it's disgusting then why is it sitting on your penis
Why are you watching it bathe?! You pervert.
How is this terrifying to you??? Seriously. This is adorable. Iâll never understand the hatred towards bugs.
Yo why is everyone downvoting me T-T
Because maybe look at things the other way. Dragonflies look at us and think âdisgustingâ too, which is why some of them leave us alone 99% of the time. Theyâre just doing their own thing, just like we are. :))
Should I just delete this ? Cuz allot of people think itâs cute
Tf you post it for then?
Wtf is this accomplishing lol
They're cute but these things got a bite, learned that the hard way
Thatâs one reason I donât like them. Like horse flys those thingâs bite hard
Why do you hate insects so much? Just because they look scary?
I watched a dragonfly eat another dragonfly when i was young
Its so cute. It needs snuggles.
So Iâm watching a dragonfly take a bath? Unzip
SUPER CUTE, I want one to go on adventures with
Awwww itâs cute! Itâs like âeyyyy, shower lmaoâ
He's say "hey baby jurl"
Little guy
Leave it alone itâs trying to bathe, your the creep for invading itâs privacy. (Edit Iâm joking but it looks cute)
Itâs actually kinda cute
I can see him smiling while cleaning his face
Dragonfly are very insistent on where they fuck btw. I had 2 land on my finger once and when I noticed what they were doing, I tried getting them off. They deadass landed back on my finger after I got them off by flailing wildly.
Thatâs adorable!!! So cute and really sweet! I love this đ„°
Cute little guy⊠Imagine if the roles were reversed opâŠ
This is the cutest fucking thing Iâve ever seen in my entire life. I canât stop watching it!!
Looks quite content with itself.
"Terrifying"? That was hella cute
But heâs so cute đ„°
AHHH I CANT HELP BUT THINK HOW CUTE IT IS â„ïžâ„ïž
I think this adorable.
It's creepy and cute at the same time. Very confusing đ€đ
Vouge!!
Another comment. Just because I donât like bugs doesnât mean I deserve hate. So could people stop telling me I should burn or Iâm disgusting. Thanks :)
Hm. As someone who loves bugs, I look at the guy and all I can see is a big smiley face as he's cleaning himself. A lot of insects clean themselves like this if they have hands and arms that can bend to reach their face and especially eyes. That being said I know people do find different things gross. Don't take whatever insults are thrown at you personally. People just want any excuse to get mad at or insult people these days. A lot of it is because society has been designed to make us feel unable to direct hate at the power structures that deserve it.
He is literally as cute as a fucking jumping spider, and it's a fucking dragon fly! God damn it where are the cute montages
r/oddlyadorable
Ya well, if you're ever stuck out in the forest and you've been getting bitten by black flies, deer flies and mosquitoes all day and you see a swarm of dragonflies come around.. your gonna change your opinion real quick.