The Secret World of Dragonflies | Short Film Showcase

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  • Опубликовано: 16 дек 2014
  • The colorful, acrobatic dragonfly may seem familiar, but this stunning macro film reveals the mysteries behind its metamorphic life cycle-and some surprising adaptations.
    See more from filmmaker Andy Holt.
    www.wildlifelens.co.uk/
    Learn about the making of this film.
    www.wildlifelens.co.uk/2014/09...
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    The Secret World of Dragonflies | Short Film Showcase
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Комментарии • 691

  • @vipahman
    @vipahman 4 года назад +352

    The fact that they spend most of their life underwater was eye-opening to me. Thanks for a beautiful and educational video.

    • @migranthawker2952
      @migranthawker2952 3 года назад +8

      The Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) spends 5+ years as a nymph

    • @JustfootyeditzTM
      @JustfootyeditzTM 2 года назад +4

      That’s why u see them mostly in our pools or ponds near us

    • @OmnipotentSaiyan
      @OmnipotentSaiyan Год назад +3

      “Mating only last a few seconds”
      Well darn, I beat their record…

  • @jayp4582
    @jayp4582 8 лет назад +483

    I have a real fondness for these insects. It started for me one day when my crew got a job nearca wooded area early in the morning with a layer of morning dew. We were being eaten alive by mosquitoes for hours. They were relentless to the point we were going to shut down operations. Then out of nowhere a small swarm of dragonflies appeared. Almost instantly the mosquitoes stopped biting. Even with the mosquitoes gone the dragonflies hung around and allowed us to complete the job. Loved those little fuckers ever since that day! 😆

  • @vickikozakmatthews1112
    @vickikozakmatthews1112 5 лет назад +360

    I can actually ‘pet’ a blue dragonfly out near my pool!! He seems to have a personality & perches on one specific reed & lets me stroke his wings & tail. He is just so cool! I love 💕 him

    • @yLeprechaun
      @yLeprechaun 4 года назад +35

      I am excruciatlingly jealous of you. I would love pet dragonflies. Sadly, I must enjoy them as they dip and dive on by.

    • @juliearnold5065
      @juliearnold5065 4 года назад +9

      Love your story.

    • @GG-vq6ro
      @GG-vq6ro 4 года назад +9

      That's cool

    • @MeteoricStoneofShatteredSouls
      @MeteoricStoneofShatteredSouls 4 года назад +13

      It's a fairy...a very deadly fairy.

    • @JEEROFUKU
      @JEEROFUKU 4 года назад +7

      Vicki Kozak Matthews I bet you have a lovely peaceful personality 😉🍀🙏🏻❤️

  • @lucasdavis1964
    @lucasdavis1964 8 лет назад +435

    Even if you think these things are scary looking, just remember that they eat flies and gnats and other tiny insects that annoy you on a hot summer day.

    • @blaquemarou
      @blaquemarou 8 лет назад +5

      +Lucas Davis all too true

    • @janeens_lucidity2531
      @janeens_lucidity2531 8 лет назад +5

      But two them ran into my forehead 😂😂😂😂 I think they hate me

    • @blaquemarou
      @blaquemarou 8 лет назад +3

      (lol)
      i find this funny
      that is so mean of me

    • @intotheunknown6523
      @intotheunknown6523 4 года назад +18

      The only insect I don’t mind landing on me including ladybirds

    • @user-uj8tz3dg4b
      @user-uj8tz3dg4b 3 года назад +2

      Also mosquitos!

  • @jlsinner99
    @jlsinner99 8 лет назад +74

    Fascinated by dragonflies and had no idea they live about 2 years under water as nymphs before emerging as dragonflies for about a month before mating and dying! The insect world is as strange as deep ocean life.

  • @Spectrumistic
    @Spectrumistic 9 лет назад +89

    I am obsessed with Dragonflies for some reason... they so beutifull

    • @sm9079
      @sm9079 8 лет назад

      ㄷㄱ티ㄸ

    • @sm9079
      @sm9079 8 лет назад

      ㅢ디디디딛

    • @ZekeRee611
      @ZekeRee611 4 года назад +1

      Their name is cool too

    • @randomrandom5316
      @randomrandom5316 3 года назад +1

      Are you still obsessed about these creatures until now?

  • @nyarshroud8778
    @nyarshroud8778 3 года назад +19

    One of nature’s marvels. Hunter of the water during young life and hunter by the skies during adult life.

  • @MustangsTrainsMowers
    @MustangsTrainsMowers 8 лет назад +156

    My favorite insect.

  • @Xero_Espadas
    @Xero_Espadas 9 лет назад +275

    My god this was an amazing video, kudos to the film maker, camera man, narrator and others who made this video happen. Keep up the good work.

    • @rand0m0mg
      @rand0m0mg 4 года назад +8

      It's the music. Some star wars shizzle.

    • @haggai3.477
      @haggai3.477 2 года назад +1

      @@rand0m0mg
      Tip of the hat to you.

  • @CiprianoA
    @CiprianoA 7 лет назад +385

    I love dragonflies they can eat up to 1000 mosquitos a day :)

    • @RageGamer-iz5tj
      @RageGamer-iz5tj 7 лет назад +16

      itscipr A actually not 1000 only 100

    • @michaelrossi3707
      @michaelrossi3707 6 лет назад +3

      They don't eat mosquitoes! They eat their larvae.

    • @banglarmn
      @banglarmn 6 лет назад +3

      Wow didn't know why I loved them so much lol

    • @aprilboazman4240
      @aprilboazman4240 5 лет назад +30

      @@michaelrossi3707 they eat both. The nymphs eat the larvae and the adults eat the mosquitoes along with other flying insects.

    • @DemonicEngineer
      @DemonicEngineer 4 года назад +1

      @@RageGamer-iz5tj actually 30

  • @raymondngu3026
    @raymondngu3026 9 лет назад +72

    That was the most magical video I've seen in a long time, not since watching Disney movies when I was a kid.

  • @emyywolf
    @emyywolf 6 лет назад +120

    Wow!!!! If it wasn't for RUclips... I would have never known that dragonflies start out as water bugs. 😵😵😵
    Mind-blown

  • @RODERICKMOLASAR
    @RODERICKMOLASAR 8 лет назад +33

    Washington State, July of 2015. I was reading a Ray Bradbury book aloud by a lake. The title was FAREWELL SUMMER. A medium-sized blue-bodied dragonfly promptly landed on the left-sided page close to my left thumb. He was facing away from me, and I could watch the rhythm of his breathing in his abdomen. It was surprisingly slow. His body was perfectly parallel to the left side of the page. The front of his head was just even with the forward edge of the page. He sat there for maybe a couple of minutes before taking flight again. Speechless.

  • @terryfriend16
    @terryfriend16 4 года назад +13

    Don't know much about Biology... but I do know I love nature, and the welcoming Dragon Fly always reminds me of summer.

  • @dillonx11
    @dillonx11 5 лет назад +43

    if i could increase the size of any creature and ride into battle, it would be the Dragonfly

    • @danyoutube7491
      @danyoutube7491 3 года назад +2

      You might get dizzy with the sharp changes of direction!

    • @parzival9651
      @parzival9651 3 года назад

      There actually used to be big dragonflies in prehistoric times

  • @annalisa14
    @annalisa14 4 года назад +14

    Ooooh, that last Nymph portrait was scaaaaarry !!!😳😨😱

  • @astrolopes
    @astrolopes 4 года назад +34

    Nice to watch a documentary with music as wonderous and beautiful as the subject!

    • @judil3294
      @judil3294 4 года назад

      Except for those who don't hear well, his soft voice is mucked up with the soft music making him hard to understand. Yes, great subject but I gave up. If I turn up the volume it will only be rude to others.

    • @benji.B-side
      @benji.B-side 4 года назад +1

      The music is from the LP 'The Planets' by Gustav Holst.

    • @toonmama6
      @toonmama6 4 года назад

      Yess superb in every aspect. Sending this clip to my pops.

    • @DACatface
      @DACatface 3 года назад

      @@judil3294 captions?

  • @Tinaraver
    @Tinaraver 9 лет назад +17

    dragonflies are my totem & power animal; this is amazing - thank you

  • @poisonempress
    @poisonempress 2 года назад +4

    I didn't know the nymph stage of these guys was so long and interesting, I absolutely love Dragonflies

  • @glengraham7080
    @glengraham7080 4 года назад +7

    When a design persists 300,000,000 years you know it's pretty effective!

  • @D00DAL3X
    @D00DAL3X 7 лет назад +30

    I appreciate dragon flys a lot more now

  • @HoneyDubey23
    @HoneyDubey23 5 лет назад +11

    Dragonflies are beautiful 🐉🐲 Its amazing how they learn to fly right away

  • @rocioaguilera3613
    @rocioaguilera3613 4 года назад +37

    What an amazing filmography. My respect for the camera persons

    • @smiller2044
      @smiller2044 4 года назад +2

      I'd like to know how long all this footage took to capture & edit. 🎥

  • @yLeprechaun
    @yLeprechaun 4 года назад +18

    I adore dragonflies. One of my favorite parts of Summer.

    • @ratherbwithhorses
      @ratherbwithhorses 4 года назад +1

      Seeing more varieties this summer than recently was nice this year.

  • @shellymauck5389
    @shellymauck5389 Год назад +3

    Last weekend I sat in the Potomac River, Maryland, USA and watched up to 12 damsel dragonflies sit on my leg. I was intrigued by them and wanted to learn more. Thank you so much for making this film! My appreciation for this seemingly delicate insect has broadened thanks to you.

  • @DopeWithoutDope
    @DopeWithoutDope 9 лет назад +56

    If that ain't starting from the bottom....

  • @rr7firefly
    @rr7firefly 4 года назад +2

    300 million years of dragonflies. Imagine that. Humans, far larger and more complex, but how well adapted for the long haul? BTW, I am really glad these insects were never able to grow to the size of a grackle. That would be a horror movie.

  • @tashaschneider1419
    @tashaschneider1419 5 лет назад +7

    Beautiful images of these precious Dragonflies! Music choice is perfect!!!!!

  • @Jhayzer021
    @Jhayzer021 4 года назад +2

    I missed seeing Dragonfly, I remember when we lived in the province back in the 90's we see this amazing insects all day.

  • @ematthews9443
    @ematthews9443 7 лет назад +32

    Wonderful, I would love to be a professional wildlife camera person filming insects like this. I did capture some dragonfly's today but my lil old cheap camera equipment isn't up to this standard. Always had fascination with insects, they're far more interesting than people.

  • @thegefster1988
    @thegefster1988 5 лет назад +7

    So neat seeing there is a world within our world. Such colorful beautiful animals

  • @senatorjosephmccarthy2720
    @senatorjosephmccarthy2720 7 лет назад +9

    Yes, fighter pilots. So similar to a Cobra helicopter. Except the dragonfly can move suddenly faster. Once I came home to hundreds of them over my front yard, about 5' high. What a colorful sight.

  • @rodiroddude6204
    @rodiroddude6204 3 года назад +4

    who else thinks that Dragonflies are kinda adorable? i sure do.
    literally we were at our summer cottage and there was like 100,00 mosquitos and then there was a dragonfly. next day there was not even that many mosquitos

  • @DocRosow
    @DocRosow 7 лет назад +6

    This quiet, gently presented short is chock full of well-researched secrets. Thank you for a beautiful and informing presentation.

  • @bluedasher74
    @bluedasher74 8 лет назад +11

    An enjoyable short film. It's got fantastic visuals. I love dragonflies!

  • @xxAnaconta
    @xxAnaconta 6 лет назад +10

    Truly magnificent creatures, and they feed on mosquitoes too which is a plus.

  • @THEGANJASAINT
    @THEGANJASAINT 7 лет назад +2

    the background music of this video is worth of an epic hollywood movie

  • @THEGREENHELIUM
    @THEGREENHELIUM 9 лет назад +10

    this was absolutely amazing, i hope they do a series of more insects

  • @caldwell2021
    @caldwell2021 8 лет назад +9

    13:52 Aww look at that cute little face! :)

    • @pcrana1
      @pcrana1 8 лет назад +3

      most dramatic close up ever, that nymph is training to become an actor. mark my words

  • @heatherkaye8653
    @heatherkaye8653 4 года назад +7

    Just experienced the variegated meadow hawk migration at the Oregon coast. It was wild! Hundreds of the species all over the beach right at the wave break. Super fascinating!

  • @seachdamhneamh7771
    @seachdamhneamh7771 4 года назад +8

    I love dragonflys I have always loved them since I was a young kid💕

  • @drelrod5462
    @drelrod5462 4 года назад +8

    fascinating and vulnerable, love me some dragonfly

  • @kimmer6
    @kimmer6 8 лет назад +44

    Yesterday and today I must have 30 of then flying around my back yard. There is no nearby open water. Fighter pilots, all of them.

  • @zhaniahernandez7722
    @zhaniahernandez7722 4 года назад +3

    Wonderful works,they are fairies and angels to me.💖😊Thank you so much.🙏🙇

  • @shawmmaker1
    @shawmmaker1 4 года назад +5

    What an absolutely lovely film. The understated narration explains the sequences without intruding and the photography is outstanding. It must have taken forever to make, but how better could you spend your time? Thank you.

  • @mariuszsympatyczny8221
    @mariuszsympatyczny8221 6 лет назад +8

    Nice choice of music /well made video/ magic wonders of life

  • @morgannec.4811
    @morgannec.4811 5 лет назад +4

    Absolutely beautiful.. and the music... wow

  • @robertocorradi7571
    @robertocorradi7571 4 года назад +5

    Fabulous photography , Great information . . . Thank you

  • @brettnelson7518
    @brettnelson7518 3 года назад +1

    I heard a buzzing the other day and looked down to find this giant dragon fly chewing on the back of a smaller dragon fly. The little one was freaking out but couldn't do anything while it was slowly being eaten alive. It was pretty brutal!!

  • @jerryalakara
    @jerryalakara 4 года назад +10

    So informative! I didn't know all of this. Thank you a lot. Dragonflies have been a mystery for me. They have a darker and unique life than the others...they're beautiful anyway 😊

  • @Jinks1447
    @Jinks1447 7 лет назад +7

    Thank you! I like dragonflies because they kill pests like mosquitoes! When I was growing up in Illinois we had lots of dragonflies. We lost some that got caught by the cat.

  • @deadmetal8692
    @deadmetal8692 4 года назад +2

    Quite fortuitous actually. I was just sitting at my patio and saw a Dragonfly cruze by and I immediately started thinking about were and how they live. Pretty cool, pretty cool.

  • @susanwedell7627
    @susanwedell7627 4 года назад +2

    I played with dragonfly's as a child in New Orleans, I never knew they lived so long ! Wonderful video !!!

  • @tahall5646
    @tahall5646 4 года назад +9

    I loved the video. The music was appropriate.

  • @mfmichele77
    @mfmichele77 4 года назад +5

    I love dragonflies too, I had one land on my finger then would swim around my pool and land on my finger after every lap for 7 laps! No lie I have pictures with her!!! It was the best day ever!

  • @annalisa14
    @annalisa14 4 года назад +8

    Andy Holt, you’re great 👍🏼 thank you very much for this excellent documentary. BBC worthy. David Attenborough would like very much.

  • @warrenlightning8137
    @warrenlightning8137 4 года назад +11

    I've always felt that life us beautiful and cruel.

  • @badoocee1967
    @badoocee1967 9 лет назад +5

    Great in-depth camera work and a fascinating perspective on this creature!

  • @senseinai
    @senseinai 4 года назад +4

    The soundtrack music is from Holst’ The Planets.

  • @ashleyreynolds3931
    @ashleyreynolds3931 6 лет назад +7

    my boyfriend and i just watched this video and enjoyed it very much. We love watching the dragonflies each year but did not know many facts about them. not only did this video clarify many quedtions but it was also very interesting and entertaining. Thanks!

  • @junefox4172
    @junefox4172 4 года назад +7

    BEAUTIFULL creatures, there wings are so delicate, AMAZING .X❤❤

  • @Mega12AX7
    @Mega12AX7 4 года назад +3

    Bravo Bravo Well Done!!! Absolutely beautiful 😍
    I live on Eastern Long Island in the Riverhead area off of Peconic Lake, a well-kept secret. There is a place off the lake that looks just like this. Elevated trains going by and all. So many dragonflies. The place is truly enchanted. Herons and Egrets as well. Once there was even a Mandarin duck. Everything you could imagine migrates through here every fall and nobody knows it exists, except for a few locals. You could call it dragonfly heaven 😁

  • @jeffosborne1147
    @jeffosborne1147 4 года назад +1

    Just left the beach to watch sunset. There was 100's of them buzzing the sea oats area. It was pretty neat. Love them.

  • @saragrant9749
    @saragrant9749 7 месяцев назад

    Dragonflies are some of the neatest little creatures to watch in action. We had one in our garden this summer, and while doing some weeding I stopped to watch it hunt a fly that was buzzing around the squash leaves. The dragon landed on a leaf nearby, the fly landed… BAM! That dragonfly was on top of it in a flash!

  • @thebiggreedybastard5462
    @thebiggreedybastard5462 9 лет назад +46

    Maybe i was high when i watched this. But fuck me them bugs are fascinating

    • @Simeliz
      @Simeliz 8 лет назад

      +TheBig GreedyBastard LOL. I was about to write totally the same, they are AMAZING!

  • @onlineeducationnepal7842
    @onlineeducationnepal7842 2 года назад +2

    My God .. this is so fascinating to find that it spent 2 years under the water ❣️🙏

  • @funny-video-YouTube-channel
    @funny-video-YouTube-channel 4 года назад +5

    Beautiful insect with a fascinating life cycle.
    It's like an alien that feeds on fish, other insects and small frogs.
    They help to keep the *mosquito population low,* we can be happy about that !

  • @lcdd9091
    @lcdd9091 4 года назад +10

    Truly fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing

  • @snowyandkiwithybird4732
    @snowyandkiwithybird4732 5 лет назад +1

    11:47-11:50 cute dragonfly face

  • @BasilBear
    @BasilBear 8 лет назад +4

    Thank you for an excellent film!

  • @gb4468
    @gb4468 8 месяцев назад

    I have always loved dragonflies..they are like small beautiful flying dragons. If you get a chance to see them up close they are all different. Beautiful!

  • @supriya5632
    @supriya5632 4 года назад +3

    Coming out of cocoon is such a beautiful process I wish I could also transform like this

    • @leonmetta5153
      @leonmetta5153 4 года назад

      We do. That's why life can hurt si much sometimes...

  • @DanielIXVIMCMLXXXI
    @DanielIXVIMCMLXXXI 5 лет назад +7

    That ending was kind of ominous.

  • @matwithonet1984
    @matwithonet1984 6 месяцев назад +1

    I was fishing at the river one day, and saw a nymph swim to the bank. It walked out of the water, climbed up onto a log, and basked in the sun until it hatched. It was quite an incredible thing to witness. When I first observed the nymph I had no clue what I was looking at. I didn't know dragonflies were aquatic beings first.

  • @joshgaona
    @joshgaona 9 лет назад +5

    awesome video and excellent choice in music too!

  • @ourjooniverse722
    @ourjooniverse722 7 месяцев назад

    LMAO the look it gave the camera with the music at the end was too good 😂😂 ❤ we need more dragon flies!!!

  • @Angel-nr8td
    @Angel-nr8td 7 лет назад +13

    excellent video thank you so much

  • @MantisKiller
    @MantisKiller 5 лет назад +4

    This was so beautifully shown and well explained!

  • @502opz346
    @502opz346 5 лет назад +4

    I see similarities to Mantis ! They seem almost the same...

  • @funkworthrollin4959
    @funkworthrollin4959 4 года назад +2

    R/C Helicopters can move like this. It's really crazy.

  • @OMEGa3FattyAcid100
    @OMEGa3FattyAcid100 6 лет назад +10

    If it was narrated by Sir David Attenborough, this would have had more views.

  • @CariABray
    @CariABray 4 года назад +2

    Love this guy's voice!! 😍😍 Soooo relaxing!!!

  • @RuanthGrain
    @RuanthGrain Год назад +1

    Dragonfly probably one of my favorite insects

  • @cardiacade
    @cardiacade 9 лет назад +3

    Awesome.

  • @valsarte
    @valsarte 4 года назад +1

    i love this docu film on dragonfly!

  • @earthlen
    @earthlen 9 лет назад +14

    Beautiful video

  • @valwhit1971
    @valwhit1971 4 года назад +2

    Splendid.....just splendid.

  • @lordbyron3603
    @lordbyron3603 4 года назад

    Dragon flies ..... one of my favorite insects. Beautiful and elegant.

  • @Gaburierairuze
    @Gaburierairuze 3 года назад +1

    I remember how my dad used to play Resident Evil: Code Verónica back when i was a child and there was a lot of references to Dragonflies, so he explained to me what they were since it was the first time i ever saw one, at least thought a tiny screen. It's weird, but they make me think of him

  • @pw3ninja
    @pw3ninja 11 месяцев назад

    the use of Mars....brilliant. chefs kiss

  • @TheVampireRove
    @TheVampireRove 4 года назад

    OMG. This is awesome. I wish this footage could be remastered and re-released in 4K HDR10+. That would be breath taking.

  • @dominicdumarang9081
    @dominicdumarang9081 3 года назад +2

    Thank you for this!
    What a great storytelling! Such a magnificent and somehow haunting (in the end) way to feature dragonflies' life.
    It is a life cycle indeed!

  • @tlstraub
    @tlstraub 6 лет назад +5

    This is very good, but if you find dragonflies fascinating, take a look at "Sky Hunters, The World of the Dragonfly" posted by The Secrets of Nature. The filmography is gorgeous!

  • @hunterpruett5640
    @hunterpruett5640 6 лет назад +1

    Incredible.

  • @terrierickson4195
    @terrierickson4195 4 года назад +3

    Thank you for creating this!

  • @cjmarsh504
    @cjmarsh504 Год назад +1

    Love the Mars god of war music in the background

  • @kiikat
    @kiikat 4 года назад +3

    Wooooow so much information I never knew and stunning visuals!

  • @r.mcbride2837
    @r.mcbride2837 4 года назад +3

    Fascinating! I really enjoyed watching this. I adore dragonflies. We have many out on our ponds and they are so beautiful. Now I know what I'm looking at when they are flitting about out there!

  • @chapter4444
    @chapter4444 4 года назад +7

    They are good luck if you see them. It's a sign of good things about to happen. Blue and red

  • @melissakimplin8425
    @melissakimplin8425 7 лет назад +2

    Loved this . OMG these creatures are so amazing