A Dazzle of Dragonflies

by Forrest L. Mitchell, James L. Lasswell

From fossils and folklore to life cycles and the latest in digital imaging techniques, A Dazzle of Dragonflies will take you into the far-reaching and sometimes secret world of one of our most beneficial insects. The guides are two of the most experienced and ardent fans of the “mosquitohawk,” and your journey will include encounters with poets and prehistoric giants; peeks into hidden, watery universes; side trips to garden ponds and scientific laboratories; and much more.

Pioneers in the electronic imaging of insects and creators of the award-winning website Digital Dragonflies, the authors share their spectacular scans of live dragonflies, enhanced with beautiful photographs that showcase them in their natural environment.

Imparting a lifelong passion for these remarkable creatures, the authors also ask us to join them in some hands-on activities to increase our awareness of and interaction with dragonflies–from tips on creating a dragonfly garden to instructions for catching, photographing, and scanning them.

Get ready to have your eyes opened by this true education about all things “dragonfly.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2005

Reviews

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For no other reason than the gorgeous pictures/ scans that the author managed to capture, this book is at least worth savoring nearly every page.

Certainly, the author goes into the prehistoric ancestors of today's dragonflies, the different genetic families/types from their larval stage to adult as well as where they are located. How to create a water garden that will lure these creatures to your yard. How to capture larval dragonflies or nymph in the wild and raise them to adulthood (if you are not going to place them in a collection, please release them back into the wild quickly.) Collecting and caring for your specimens. The best camera equipment and scanning computer software if you want to collect in picture form.

Quite a bit of information but certainly the best part is the photos. This is not a guide to every dragonfly species still in existence. There are a couple of those that he does note but it's a good general overview. And - in my opinion - he did a very nice job of it. Lots of visual examples to break up the wordage.

2019-084

[Olive · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good book for a layperson who likes dragonflies and wants to learn more about them in general. I appreciate that the authors talked about the dragonfly holistically, including chapters on global folklore, biology, and archaeology. The last few chapters discuss in depth three different ways to further your appreciation, including photographer, gardening, and collecting. However, I personally find collecting insects solely for pleasure, which this book condones, to be destructive and pointless. Who wants to look at dead dragonflies, when the real beauty of a dragonfly is not only its coloring, but the way it moves and how it interacts with its environment?

[Erin Smeby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos

[Anne Ruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly beautiful images.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great images and all the essential details you need to know about these wonderful creatures. I read it in a day.