Why dragonfly wings. Dragonfly wings. Big eyes? No, tiny eyes
A person sometimes pays so little attention to all sorts of cockroach insects crawling and flying very nearby. And all because he knows very little interesting and unusual about insects. But this small world, which occupies the entire planet, is full of important, interesting and unsolved mysteries. Here, for example, is the eye of a dragonfly. This is an amazing organ of vision, and the dragonfly does not have a pair of eyes, but several thousand!
Beauty dragonfly
The dragonfly is a representative of the insect world, belonging to an order with an unusual name - ancient amphibious, well-flying insects, or the infraclass of winged insects. However, the scientific community is still debating how and why it is necessary to separate dragonflies from the rest of the insect world. After all, they are very unusual creatures. According to some reports, the dragonfly is one of the oldest representatives of the living world on our planet. Everything about it is interesting: from the method of breeding offspring to flight technology. AThe dragonfly's eye is a real miracle of nature. However, the entire world around us is a great miracle.
Structure of a dragonfly
According to entomological scientists, there are 6,650 species of dragonflies on our planet, and a tenth of them are fossil species. These insects come in very different sizes. The wingspan of the smallest representatives is 20 mm, and the largest dragonfly spreads its wings 191 mm. Dragonflies are beautiful insects that are usually quite brightly colored. But their body consists of the same sections as those of all insects:
- head;
- breast;
- abdomen.
Insects are separated into a separate world because they have such a body structure, and they all have three pairs of limbs attached to the chest. But the dragonfly is an amazing creature. It is considered the planet's most voracious insect predator. Scientists have calculated that she eats 40 flies in two hours. But gluttony is not the only amazing quality of the dragonfly. The most unique thing about it is perhaps its organs of vision. The eye of a dragonfly is a whole optical laboratory.
How many eyes does a dragonfly have?
In appearance, this insect has only 2 huge round eyes. But in fact this is a completely wrong idea. After all, a dragonfly is amazing - it consists of several tens of thousands of small eyes, there are up to 30 thousand of them. Or rather, it would be correct to call them facets. They are very, very small and set so close to each other that they seem like one huge eye. But the facets look separate from each other. It turns out to be a huge overview in all directions, although each facet sees just a little.
The dragonfly's vision range is small - only about 8 meters. But that's enough for her. WITHThe triple eye of a dragonfly is surprising not only by the number of facets that make it up. These organs of vision have a cone-shaped shape: the wide part is the visible surface, and the narrow edge brings together all the facets into one whole in the depths of the eye. Unlike a person, who, thanks to the lens, sees the image upside down, and then the brain processes the information as expected, the dragonfly initially sees the image upright.
Big eyes? No, tiny eyes
If you examine the eyes of a dragonfly under a microscope, you will notice that they are different in size: at the top the facets are larger, and at the bottom they are smaller. In addition, scientists have found that the upper facets see only blue, and those located below see other shades. From the dragonfly's point of view, this is very convenient. After all, insects flying against the sky or below are more noticeable to the hunter. The dragonfly also sees ultraviolet light. Scientists have found that another feature is its ability to distinguish the flickering of light. The insects that the dragonfly feeds on quickly flap their wings, and the hunter sees this and attacks.
Look back
Those who are interested in dragonflies ask whether dragonflies have simple eyes or not? An interesting fact is that these insects have two complex organs of vision, consisting of thousands of facets, as well as three simple ones, each having one lens and located on the crown of the insect. Two compound and three simple eyes allow for an almost all-round view. And together with maneuverability and speed of flight, this is enough for dragonflies to lead a well-fed life.
The most dexterous and fastest
It's not just the dragonfly's eye that is amazing about this insect. The wings alone are worth it! They have small spots-thickenings, which are called wing eyes. Aviation designers also came up with similar designs for airplanes. This detail helps prevent the wings from oscillating and breaking during flight. By the way, the dragonfly flies at an amazing speed - up to 100 km/h.
And dragonfly larvae that live in ponds are the most unusual inhabitants of ponds and ditches. Their correct name is nymphs. They live a long time. They spend 2 years in a pond. But the adult individuals themselves, whose correct name is imago, live 2 times less. This period is only 10 months, unless they die earlier. Nymph-larvae, while in the water, molt 10 times and grow up to 4-5 centimeters in length, becoming almost the largest insects among their neighbors in the pond. The larva moves like a squid, using a special bag into which it sucks water and then pushes it out with force, like a jet engine. The way the larva catches food, using its lower lip, is also unusual. When at rest, this organ is folded and placed on the front of the head. Its correct name is "mask". But when a tadpole or some kind of beetle swims by, the lip unfolds and, with the help of two hooks located at its end, catches the prey and brings it to the mouth.
The dragonfly is an amazing representative of the insect world. This is a beautiful, fast and unusual assistant to humans in protecting plants from pests. Yes, dragonflies destroy several tens of thousands of insects, most of them harmful to plants, during their rather short life. And they deserve respect and attention from people.
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Dragonfly
Inspiring idea for creating a helicopter
http://www.origins.org.ua/page.php?id_story=231
A dragonfly cannot fold its wings along its body. Additionally, the way in which a dragonfly's muscles work to move its wings during flight is different from all other insect species. It is because of these properties that evolutionists claim that dragonflies are "primitive insects."
In fact, the flight system of these so-called "primitive insects" is nothing short of a marvel of design. The world's leading helicopter manufacturer, Sikorsky, has finished designing one of its helicopters using the dragonfly as a model. IBM, which assisted Sikorsky in this project, began by transferring the dragonfly model to a computer (IBM 3081). Two thousand special reenactments were made on the computer that replicated the dragonfly's maneuvers in the air. Thus, to transport soldiers and artillery, the Sikorsky helicopter was created based on a model obtained from observations of the behavior of a dragonfly.
Sikorsky helicopters were modeled after the impeccable design and maneuverability of the dragonfly.
Giles Martin, a nature photographer, spent two years studying the behavior of dragonflies and concluded that these creatures have an extremely complex flight mechanism. The dragonfly's body has a screw structure, which seems to be covered with metal. The two wings are arranged crosswise on the body, which ranges in color from light blue to deep red-brown. It is this body structure that allows this insect to maneuver perfectly.
No matter in which direction or at what speed it flies, a dragonfly can stop at any second and continue its flight in the opposite direction. Or if she is currently hunting, she may hover in the air. And in this position, she can move quite quickly in the direction of her prey. A dragonfly can accelerate to a very surprising speed for insects - 40km/h, which is equivalent to the speed of an athlete who runs a distance of 100 meters at the Olympic Games at a speed of 39 km/h.
At this speed, the dragonfly collides with its prey. The impact force during a collision is very high. However, the dragonfly has a very strong and very elastic shell. It is the flexible structure of this shell that softens the impact of a collision, which cannot be said about dragonfly prey. The prey "faints" or even dies from such an encounter.
The dragonfly's eye is considered to be the most complex eye structure of any insect in the world. Each eye contains about 30,000 lenses. These eyes occupy almost half of the head and give the insect a very wide field of vision, thanks to which the dragonfly can even see what is happening behind its back. The wings of a dragonfly are so complex that any idea of their random naturalistic origin seems to be mere nonsense.
After a collision, the dragonfly's hind legs take on the role of its most lethal weapon. The legs extend and capture the stunned prey, which is then quickly torn apart and eaten with the help of powerful jaws.
The dragonfly's appearance is as impressive as its ability to perform quick maneuvers at high speed. The dragonfly's eye is considered the best among all insects. The dragonfly has two eyes, each of which consists of approximately thirty thousand different lenses. Two hemispherical eyes, which occupy almost half the size of the head, give the insect a very wide field of vision. Thanks to such eyes, the dragonfly can even see what is happening behind.
Therefore, the dragonfly’s body is a collection of systems, each of which has a unique and perfect structure. The slightest malfunction in any of these systems will make it impossible to use all other elements. But all this is impeccably thought out and created, and therefore the insect continues to exist.
Dragonfly Wings
The most important characteristic of a dragonfly is its wings. However, it is impossible to explain the origin of the flight mechanism that makes the use of wings possible using the model of progressive evolution. First, the theory of evolution fails on the issue of the origin of wings, since they could only function if they were developed and fully "assembled" to function properly. This is a state of affairs that contradicts the claims of evolutionists about gradual development.
Let's assume for a second that the genes of an insect moving on the ground have undergone mutation, and some parts of the skin tissue on the body have changed. It would not be very prudent to assume that another mutation in addition to this change could be "accidentally" added to form a wing. In addition, mutations will not only not provide the insect’s body with wings and will not bring any benefit, but will also reduce its mobility. The insect then has to carry more weight, which does not serve any real or useful purpose. This would put the insect at a disadvantage compared to its rivals. Moreover, according to the fundamental principle of the theory of evolution, natural selection would lead to the extinction of this physically inferior insect and its descendants.
The picture shows the movement of a dragonfly's wing during flight. The front wings are marked in red. A detailed study shows that the front and rear pairs of wings flap with different rhythms, which provides the insect with excellent flight technique. This movement of the wings is possible thanks to special muscles working in harmony.
Moreover, mutations occur very rarely. In most cases, they harm animals, often leading to fatal diseases. That is why mutations are simply not capable of causing the formation of a flight mechanism from some parts of the dragonfly’s body. After all this, let's ask ourselves: even if we assume the reality of the scenario proposed by evolutionists, why then are there no fossils of a “primitive dragonfly”?
There is no difference between the fossils of the oldest dragonfly and the dragonflies living today. There are no remains of an insect that is part dragonfly or "dragonfly with emerging wings."
Like other life forms, the dragonfly appeared once and has not changed since then. In other words, she was created and never “evolved.”
Insect skeletons are formed from a strong protective substance called chitin. This substance was created to be strong enough to form an exoskeleton. It is flexible enough to move the muscles used for flight. The wings can move forward and backward, up and down. The movements of the wings are facilitated by a complex interconnected structure. The dragonfly has two pairs of wings: one pair in an extended position relative to the other. The wings work asynchronously, that is, while the two front wings are rising, the rear pair of wings is lowering. Two opposing muscle groups move the wings. Muscles are attached to levers inside the body. While one group of muscles, contracting, pulls up a pair of wings, another group opens the other pair with a reflex. Helicopters take off and descend using similar technology. This allows the dragonfly to hover, move backwards, or quickly change direction.
Metamorphosis of Dragonfly
After fertilization, female dragonflies no longer mate. However, this does not create any problems for the males of the species Calopteryx Virgo. Using hooks located on his tail, the male grabs the female by the neck. The female covers the male's tail with her paws. The male, using special outgrowths on his tail, cleans out any seed that might have remained from another male. The male then transfers the seed from his seminal opening to the female's genital opening. Since this process lasts for hours, sometimes the male and female fly in this locked position. The dragonfly lays mature eggs on the shallows of lakes or reservoirs. After hatching from the egg, the larva lives in water for 3-4 years. During this time, she also feeds in water. That's why she has a body that can swim fast enough to catch fish and powerful jaws. As the larva grows, the skin covering its body tightens. The larva sheds its skin four times. When the time for the last drop (the fifth) approaches, she comes out of the water and begins to climb a tall plant or stone. The larva continues to rise until its legs can no longer move. And then, with the help of special hooks that are located at the tips of its legs, the larva is fixed to the surface. One miss and a fall means inevitable death for her.
This last stage of larval development differs from the previous four in that through an amazing transformation God turns the larva into a flying creature.
First, the back of the larva cracks. The crack widens and becomes an open gap through which a new creature, completely different from the larva, tries to crawl out. This extremely fragile organism is protected by stretched ligaments left over from the previous creature. These ligaments are unusually transparent and elastic. Because if they were not so elastic, they would break and could not hold the larva, and this would lead to the fact that the larva would fall into the water and die.
In addition, the dragonfly's body has a number of special mechanisms that help it shed its skin. The dragonfly's old body shrinks and becomes wrinkled. In order to “open” this body, the dragonfly has a special pumping system and a special liquid that is used during this process. These shriveled parts of the insect's body are inflated by pumping out fluid after it exits through the slit. Meanwhile, chemical solvents begin to break down the ligaments without damaging the new body. These processes occur accurately, although if one leg were stuck in the old body, this would lead to the death of the dragonfly. The feet then dry and harden for about twenty minutes before the dragonfly begins to test them.
The wings of this new creature are already fully formed, but are in a folded state. With the help of sharp contractions of the body, fluid is pumped into the tissues of the wings. Then the wings straighten and dry out.
After the new organism leaves the old body and dries out completely, the dragonfly tests all its legs and wings. The legs fold and extend one after the other, and the wings rise and fall.
Finally, the insect takes on a form suitable for flight. It's hard to believe that this perfect flying creature is the worm-like creature that came out of the water. The dragonfly pumps out excess fluid to balance its body system. Metamorphosis is complete and the insect is ready to fly.
When we think about how all these miracles happened, we are again faced with the inconsistency of the theory of evolution, since this theory insists on the emergence of living species as a result of a series of successive accidents. However, the metamorphosis of a dragonfly is such a complex process that it occurs in such a way that not a single mistake occurs at any of its stages. The slightest error at any of these stages would render the transformation incomplete and result in damage or death of the dragonfly. Metamorphosis is indeed an “irreducibly complex” process and therefore clear evidence of design.
In conclusion, it is worth saying that the metamorphosis of the dragonfly is one of the many evidences of how flawlessly God created living creatures. God's wonderful workmanship is demonstrated even in such a small creature as a dragonfly.
Source-www.designanduniverse.com
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"Where the vines bend over the pool,
Where the summer sun is hot,
Dragonflies fly and dance,
A cheerful round dance is performed.
"Child, come closer to us,
We will teach you to fly,
Child, come, come,
Until the mother woke up!
The blades of grass are trembling beneath us,
We feel so good and warm
We have turquoise backs,
And the wings are definitely glass!
We know so many songs
We love you so much for a long time -
Look how sloping the bank is,
What a sandy bottom!
(A. Tolstoy)
On a hot summer day, many of our compatriots make their way out of stuffy cities to bodies of water to engage in the Russian form of meditation - fishing. But even in the most secluded place, fishermen will be surrounded by big-eyed insects with the body of an airplane and the wings of a helicopter, which in England are called dragonfly, in France - demoiselle, and here - dragonflies.
Dragonflies fly during the day and rest at night, clinging to stems.
Living helicopters of the past
"...And when the dragonfly sang its hymn,
Passing between green frets like a comet,
I knew that every dewdrop is a tear.
I knew that in every facet of a huge eye,
In every rainbow of brightly chirping wings
The burning word of the prophet dwells,
And I miraculously discovered Adam’s secret.”
(Arseny Tarkovsky)
320 million years ago there were no fishermen, no birds, no pterodactyls. While four-legged amphibians and reptiles were still timidly huddling around reservoirs, dragonflies - the first of the living world - made their way into the air. They did not fly very skillfully, but they were of a respectable size.
If the largest of modern dragonflies - Megaloprepus caerulenta from South America - has a wingspan of 19 cm, then in the ancient dragonfly Meganeura it reached, according to some sources, 75 cm, according to others - a little less than a meter. This largest known insect was already a dangerous and voracious predator with virtually no competitors. Meganeura's prey was not much inferior to it in size - herbivorous and slow-moving dictyonevrids reached the size of a pigeon and after some time were exterminated by dragonflies as a species.
Imprint of the prehistoric dragonfly Meganeura.
Why did dragonflies (and other insects) shred so much in the future? It's worth starting with the fact that 300 million years ago the oxygen content in the air was not 21%, as it is now, but 35%. Lushly growing mosses, horsetails and ferns actively saturated the atmosphere with oxygen, and there was no one to consume it. Even the fungi and bacteria responsible for decomposition did not form, so oxygen was not consumed for oxidation processes. As a result, the dead plants did not rot, but turned to stone, subsequently forming deposits of the well-known coal (which is why this entire period will be called Carboniferous).
Giant dragonflies such as Meganeura and Stenodictia fluttered in the coal forests. The latter had an additional pair of small wings.
Now let's turn to the respiratory system of insects. They have an analogue of our blood. It is called geolymph, but geolymph does not carry oxygen. Insects breathe through special tubes - tracheas - located in the abdomen, into which air flows as if by itself - due to the pressure difference. As long as there was a lot of oxygen, the trachea could be longer, and the insects, accordingly, larger. When O2 levels dropped, the era of giant six-legged animals ended. And the fishermen are not in danger of breaking their fishing rod when they sit down to rest, the meganeura.
Achtung! Achtung! There's glass in the air!
“Golden insects are wandering in the grass.
All blue, like turquoise,
She sat down, swaying, on the corolla of a chamomile,
Like a colored airplane, a dragonfly."
(S. Marshak)
"Dragonflies attack the plane
On high
In the middle of the day..."
(E. Letov)
Although the descendants of dragonflies are inferior to their ancestors in size, they have achieved real virtuosity in the art of flight. Their two pairs of wings make fairly simple movements, but work alternately (while one pair is falling, the second is rising). This allows dragonflies to suddenly change direction of flight, hover in the air and even fly backwards.
Even such a skilled flyer as a fly is usually doomed if it falls into the sights of a dragonfly.
It’s worth talking about the “sight” in particular. Our heroine’s eyes are huge (remember, the “dragonfly” glasses that were popular in the 1970s), which allows her to have an almost 360-degree view. Like many insects, the dragonfly's eyes consist of many small eyes - facets - thanks to which the image is formed in the manner of a mosaic.
The dragonfly has a record number of such facets (up to 28 thousand), and they are divided into two types. The facets of the upper part of the eye distinguish only black and white, which is very important when you need to view prey against a clear sky. But when the victim is targeted, the dragonfly rises above it to grab it. And here it is already important to distinguish prey against the background of the earth. Therefore, the lower facets are able to distinguish colors, and distinguish them much more than the human eye. If the human retina absorbs only three spectra - red, green and blue (the remaining colors are the result of “mixing”), then the dragonfly has five facets, which allows it to see in the infrared and ultraviolet ranges.
It is clear that the dragonfly sees well for an insect - at a distance of up to 8-10 m. In addition, its vision frequency is 4 times higher than that of a human. Relatively speaking, if a person sees 24 frames per second, then a dragonfly sees about a hundred.
With such vision and volatility, the dragonfly naturally became one of the most dangerous six-legged air predators. In addition, it is extremely voracious - if it were an insect the size of a person, it could easily eat a whole calf in a day.
The dragonfly eats its small victims directly on the fly, and catches larger ones with its spiked legs folded into a basket. Its mouth is impressive: sharp, thorn-like maxillae prick the victim and rotate it, as if on a spit, while the jagged mandibles grind it. Thank God, this oral apparatus is completely harmless to our skin.
Dragonflies are divided into two groups. Heteropterans (headstocks, rockers) - have large sizes and do not know how to fold their wings.
Homoptera (lutki, arrows, beauties) are smaller, fold their wings, but fly worse.
But dragonflies turned out to be very useful for aircraft designers. They write that the famous Sikorsky developed one of the helicopters, taking the dragonfly as a model. She also helped in the creation of a jet aircraft engine. The fact is that the first jet engines created such vibration that they literally fell apart. A solution was found when it was discovered that the dragonfly dampens vibration with the help of small spots at the ends of its wings.
Dragonflies are not only skillful, but also fast flyers - they reach speeds of up to 50 km/h or more. In addition, they are also tireless, which allows them to periodically gather in huge flocks and make long flights. So in 1817, a flock of dragonflies flew over Dresden for 2 hours, and in 1883, over the Swedish city of Malmo, the “parade of dragonflies” lasted from morning to evening. In 1947, a huge flock of dragonflies invaded Ireland from the sea. However, it was not noticed either in England or France. This means that most likely she flew from the coast of Spain, covering a sea route of almost a thousand km. Such cases have long been considered a bad omen by people. As for scientists, they have not yet established the exact reasons for the mass flights, but they suggest that this is how dragonflies are looking for a new habitat.
Dragonflies, dragonflies and dragonflies
"Born in water, but afraid of water"
(mystery)
Probably, many of you have seen pairs of seemingly fused, “loop” dragonflies. It is not difficult to guess that they form a similar “Kama Sutra” for the sake of the reproduction process. This process is quite sophisticated. First, the male deposits a sperm sac (spermatophore) in a hole on his third segment. Then he grabs the female by the neck with claw-like appendages at the end of the abdomen and drags the “bride” until she raises her posterior end of the abdomen to the spermatophore and it enters the genital opening.
Mating dragonflies.
Then the male flies, finds a place for laying eggs (some plant sticking out of the pond) and, while the female lays eggs in the water, flies over it and drives away competitors (sometimes the family participates in the process while still mated).
A larva hatches from the egg, similar to mom and dad except for its large eyes and predatory habits. For hunting, the larva has an impressive jaw with claws at the ends, capable of extending far and grabbing all kinds of aquatic life - other larvae, worms, tadpoles, small fish, and in the absence of these - even its brothers.
Folding jaw of a dragonfly larva.
Jaw at work.
Dragonfly larvae breathe either using gills at the end of the abdomen or through special openings in the spiracles. They move according to the principle of a rocket, drawing water into the hindgut and forcefully pushing it out.
Typically, the dragonfly larva appears in the second half of summer, overwinters, and in June turns into an adult insect. However, this process can take two or even five years in different species.
Dragonfly immediately after molting. The integument has not yet hardened and is not pigmented.
The biological significance of the dragonfly is, in general, clear - it does not bite us, but it eats all kinds of flies, horseflies and mosquitoes in huge quantities.
Dragonfly - carefree, brave or devilish?
Dragonflies are very similar in general terms. But the attitude of people towards them in different countries is different. A reverent attitude towards dragonflies is characteristic of Japan. The Chronicle of Japan, compiled in 720, contains many beautiful legends. According to one of them, Emperor Jimmu-Tenno once climbed a mountain in the Yamato region and saw that his country was in the shape of two mating dragonflies. Because of this, the island of Honshu was called “Akitsushima” for some time, i.e. "Dragonfly Island"
According to another legend, Emperor Yuryaku-Tenno was bitten by a horsefly while hunting. And then a dragonfly flew from the sky and grabbed the disrespectful bloodsucker. The emperor was so moved that he named the area where this happened “Akitsuno” (“Dragonfly Plain”).
And during the Warring States period (1467-1560), the predatory and swift dragonfly became a symbol of military courage. Samurai decorated their armor with her image, and the dragonflies themselves were called “katimushi” (“winners”) and sacrificed them, praying to the gods for victory.
It is not surprising that the dragonfly is one of the favorite images of Japanese poetry.
Tie-nee:
"Over the wave of the stream
The dragonfly is catching, catching
Your own shadow."
Matsuo Basho:
“The dragonfly is all spinning...
Can't get a hold
For the stalks of flexible grass."
The Japanese still maintain respect for dragonflies. In 1988, the world's first park called "Dragonfly Kingdom" opened in Nakamura on the island of Shikoku. In addition to a huge number of species of dragonflies fluttering over fields and lakes, there are buildings and bridges decorated with images of dragonflies. In the supermarket you can see dragonfly-shaped lampshades, as well as buy paintings and things with images of the brave and beautiful insect.
In some cultures, the bizarre face and intermittent flight of the dragonfly endowed it with the role of an inhabitant and messenger of the other world (remember the film “Dragonfly” by T. Shadyac with C. Costner in the title role).
As for Europe, it was not that they hated the dragonfly, but they treated it with cautious prejudice. It is enough to cite the English names of insects like dragonfly (“dragon fly”), flying adder (“flying viper”) or devil’s darning-needle (“devil’s darning needle”). It is not for nothing that constantly lying children were intimidated with the idea that “a dragonfly will fly in and sew up your mouth."
The Slavs also did not idealize the dragonfly and considered it the devil’s mount.
Also, the dragonfly was often associated with femininity, grace, fragility and frivolity.
The carefree, frivolous dragonfly in Russian culture is inextricably linked with I. Krylov’s fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant”:
"Dragonfly Jumper"
The red summer sang,
I didn’t have time to look back,
How winter rolls into your eyes."
Not everyone thinks about how conveniently a dragonfly sings and even jumps. A real dragonfly is not able to make any sound other than the slight rattling of its wings. Her legs are completely unsuitable, not only for jumping, but also for ordinary walking.
The fact is that Krylov took the plot of his fable from the French fabulist Jean La Fontaine, who, in turn, used the ancient Greek fable of Aesop. Aesop's main characters were the Ant and the Grasshopper. Lafontaine did not touch the ant, but since in French the ant - "la fourmie" - is feminine, he replaced the grasshopper with another feminine insect - the singing cicada. As a result, two women participate in the conversation - an economic one and a frivolous one.
At the time of Krylov, the word “cicada” had not yet entered the Russian lexicon, and the hardworking ant was clearly masculine. For some reason, the Russian fabulist did not want to use a male Grasshopper (perhaps frivolity was considered a completely unmasculine quality), and the Dragonfly became the heroine.
Perhaps the fact that for a long time the Russian word “dragonfly” had a broad meaning and applied not only to the graceful fly, but also to many other restless insects, also played a role here. The name itself comes from the word “strek” and is related to the verb “strekat”, i.e. sting, prick, gallop (hence the expression “let it gallop”). Therefore, when using the word “dragonfly,” Krylov, according to the apt observation of L. Uspensky, most likely meant the chirping jumper Grasshopper (by the way, the Ukrainian version of the fable is called “Konik-stribunets”).
| Leonid Glibov, 1890:
"On the steppe, in the fragrant grass, Konik, great fellow, And cheerful, and singing, І agile stribunets, Chi in wheat, chi in zhito, I'll finish the job by unpacking it And a whole summer, Without sleeping soundly; Walking around on all sides, Everything is bad, everything is darma... If there's a bang - it's as wide as the steppe Suna has a bitter winter. Konik weeps, my heart bleeds; I rushed to Murav: - Uncle, he’s white in winter! From now on I will perish! I hear - there are louder crows in the forest, Are the winds howling wildly? Order, order, fellow countryman, How dare you get over it! - I got angry, I didn’t understand, - Having rendered favor to the fellow countryman, - Who kokhav life ledache - Not overflowing that. - How can you not be happy in the world? Everything around you is blooming, - Like Konik, - birds, kviti, Just a little note on those; Skochish on the grass shovkovu - Everyone sang and sang.- What a joyful language The youmu ant said: - Having slept through the summer, oh my God, - The reward is already yours, - Now dance, my goodness, It's a hopak in the cold!" |
