BIG DOG AND THE DOG STAR
(Page 2 of 3)
In light of the complexity of the situation and the
vagueness of how close the sun and Sirius have to be for
them to supposedly combine heat, it's not surprising to
hear that many dates have been suggested for the dog days.
One tradition has them occurring from July 3 to August 11.
But other lore authorities claim they begin later (even as
late as July 30) and the duration claimed for them ranges
from about four to six weeks.
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Fantastical Dragonflies
At one time or another, most of us have seen a dragonfly
and marveled at it: hovering or darting near us, it looks
like a brightly colored needle with big whirring wings.
Perhaps we should not be surprised to learn that so
fanciful-looking a creature really does have a strange life
and abilities.
Two questions often asked about dragonflies are whether
they bite or sting people and whether they have any
practical benefits for humanity. The answers are No and
Yes. Dragonflies, and their generally smaller, more fragile
relatives the damselflies, can't sting and are not known to
bite people. They do have jaws, however, and they are quite
voracious in their use of them to bite and eat a variety of
other insects—including mosquitoes and flies, which
human beings consider pests. Which of course answers the
second question: Yes, dragonflies are quite beneficial to
us by eliminating large numbers of insects that we find
undesirable. In flight, they actually grab bugs and collect
them in their curve—dunder legs, as if in a bucket.
Dragonflies lay eggs near or in the water and in their
early, nymph stages feed on aquatic creatures and breathe
with gills—until the time comes and the adult
dragonfly bursts forth from its shell. You may have noticed
large numbers of dragonflies in August, darting back and
forth over a field after flies and mosquitoes. Is this a
concentration of the dragonflies that live around the
neighborhood? No. These impressive displays of dozens or
hundreds of dragonflies are groups from far away pausing to
feed during migration. Some of the larger kinds of
dragonfly do migrate—not thousands of miles as is
common for birds, but at least hundreds of miles.
Dragonflies can be distinguished from damselflies because
they rest with wings outstretched while most damselflies
rest with wings folded. Both varieties have four thin,
transparent, many—veined wings.
