This week we are deep diving into a very special species of dragonfly known as the morpho dragonfly or blue-winged dragonfly which has some amazing abilities to protect itself from both the heat and predators.  Support the Show :) -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=46499107 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insects4fun/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085443614825 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEQm507W0wBXaRL8tvT9aLg   Today's featured Artists: no one's perfect, sleeperame, and HM Surf   Transcript:    Welcome back to episode 47 of Insects for Fun! The podcast where every Tuesday we talk about something Entomological. This week is another listener request from the Heartland for a special kind of dragonfly.   Introduction   The blue morpho dragonfly or morpho dragonfly scientifically known as Zenithoptera lanei is a beautiful dragonfly found within open marshes of Central America and the northern half of South America. They belong to the family Libellulidae which happens to be the largest family of dragonflies and are commonly referred to as skimmers. As the name suggests, the wings on these incredible creatures are a reflective blue just like the blue morpho butterflies but this is exclusively on the males. These dragonflies also have the same light diffracting properties as morpho butterflies, meaning these wings are not actually blue at all but get their intense color through light moving through a bunch of crystal like structures in the wings, which then bounce off and cancel out the new light hitting its surface.  The undersides of their wings are also a completely different color similar to morpho butterflies except these insects have a mix of metallic red and Black underwings. For the most part I would say they’re Black which I guess technically is the absence of color, but this isn’t an art lesson or a physics lesson so we’re moving on        Life Cycle, and food source:    The life cycle of a morpho dragonfly begins like all other dragonflies with eggs being oviposited near water and go through a series of molts underwater as predatory nymphs/naiads. The Naiads for dragonflies in the family Libellulidae are more stout than others, and they also have half their face covered by the lower jaw or labium which is shaped like a spoon to capture smaller insects. In general most naiads in this family hunt down prey by camouflaging in with their background either by burying themselves into sediment or clinging on to plants and rocks.  The adults feed on any small soft-bodied flying insects like moths, mayflies, midges, flies, and sometimes wasps, but in general many neotropic dragonfly species in the family Libellulidae avoid wasps and bees.  In general dragonflies within this family prefer ovipositing their eggs in still water, but some will do it in streams or moving currents as well. This is not the case however for the morpho dragonfly which do in fact prefer still waters.    Behaviors:    These dragonflies operate during midday which leaves them with high exposure to UV and heat. Fortunately they were built for this, and actually have evolved some special traits to maneuver through the most daunting of days.    The blue reflective wings actually act as heat conductors, pulling heat away from the body and diverging it through their wings. They also have another special skill which is only found in one other genus of dragonflies and that would be the ability to fold their wings vertically like a damselfly. When these dragonflies have their wings spread out it actually pulls heat away from the body,    and once the dragonflies close their wings, they can begin heating their body up again by absorbing light into the deep red/ black undersides. This is why these dragonflies will flap their wings periodically while perched within their territory. Skimmer dragonflies in general have evolved many different methods for keeping themselves cool during the day because