The Secret World of Dragonflies | Short Film Showcase

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  • čas přidán 16. 12. 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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Komentáře • 703

  • @vipahman
    @vipahman Před 4 lety +359

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

    • @migranthawker2952
      @migranthawker2952 Před 3 lety +8

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

    • @JustfootyeditzTM
      @JustfootyeditzTM Před 3 lety +4

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

    • @OmnipotentSaiyan
      @OmnipotentSaiyan Před rokem +3

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

  • @jayp4582
    @jayp4582 Před 9 lety +497

    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 Před 5 lety +368

    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 Před 4 lety +37

      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 Před 4 lety +9

      Love your story.

    • @GG-vq6ro
      @GG-vq6ro Před 4 lety +9

      That's cool

    • @MeteoricStoneofShatteredSouls
      @MeteoricStoneofShatteredSouls Před 4 lety +13

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

    • @JEEROFUKU
      @JEEROFUKU Před 4 lety +7

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

  • @lucasdavis1964
    @lucasdavis1964 Před 8 lety +451

    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.

  • @jlsinner99
    @jlsinner99 Před 9 lety +78

    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.

  • @Xero_Espadas
    @Xero_Espadas Před 9 lety +276

    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 Před 5 lety +8

      It's the music. Some star wars shizzle.

    • @haggai3.477
      @haggai3.477 Před 2 lety +1

      @@rand0m0mg
      Tip of the hat to you.

  • @nyarshroud8778
    @nyarshroud8778 Před 4 lety +21

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

  • @raymondngu3026
    @raymondngu3026 Před 9 lety +73

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

  • @Spectrumistic
    @Spectrumistic Před 9 lety +92

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

    • @sm9079
      @sm9079 Před 8 lety

      ㄷㄱ티ㄸ

    • @sm9079
      @sm9079 Před 8 lety

      ㅢ디디디딛

    • @ZekeRee611
      @ZekeRee611 Před 4 lety +1

      Their name is cool too

    • @randomrandom5316
      @randomrandom5316 Před 4 lety +1

      Are you still obsessed about these creatures until now?

  • @MustangsTrainsMowers
    @MustangsTrainsMowers Před 8 lety +156

    My favorite insect.

  • @RODERICKMOLASAR
    @RODERICKMOLASAR Před 8 lety +35

    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.

  • @dillonx11
    @dillonx11 Před 5 lety +44

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

    • @danyoutube7491
      @danyoutube7491 Před 3 lety +2

      You might get dizzy with the sharp changes of direction!

    • @parzival9651
      @parzival9651 Před 3 lety

      There actually used to be big dragonflies in prehistoric times

    • @NovaProspekt19
      @NovaProspekt19 Před 18 dny

      ​@parzival9651 not only were the flies bigger. But also the caterpillars, mantises, and beetles. The oxygen level in the atmosphere allowed for a lot of creatures to be bigger

  • @CiprianoA
    @CiprianoA Před 8 lety +388

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

    • @RageGamer-iz5tj
      @RageGamer-iz5tj Před 7 lety +18

      itscipr A actually not 1000 only 100

    • @michaelrossi3707
      @michaelrossi3707 Před 6 lety +3

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

    • @banglarmn
      @banglarmn Před 6 lety +4

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

    • @aprilboazman4240
      @aprilboazman4240 Před 5 lety +35

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

    • @DemonicEngineer
      @DemonicEngineer Před 5 lety +1

      @@RageGamer-iz5tj actually 30

  • @glengraham7080
    @glengraham7080 Před 4 lety +10

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

  • @D00DAL3X
    @D00DAL3X Před 7 lety +30

    I appreciate dragon flys a lot more now

  • @poisonempress
    @poisonempress Před 3 lety +5

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

  • @emyywolf
    @emyywolf Před 6 lety +120

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

  • @terryfriend16
    @terryfriend16 Před 5 lety +13

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

  • @astrolopes
    @astrolopes Před 4 lety +34

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

    • @judil3294
      @judil3294 Před 4 lety

      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 Před 4 lety +1

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

    • @toonmama6
      @toonmama6 Před 4 lety

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

    • @DACatface
      @DACatface Před 3 lety

      @@judil3294 captions?

  • @annalisa14
    @annalisa14 Před 4 lety +14

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

  • @Tinaraver
    @Tinaraver Před 9 lety +17

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

  • @rocioaguilera3613
    @rocioaguilera3613 Před 4 lety +37

    What an amazing filmography. My respect for the camera persons

    • @smiller2044
      @smiller2044 Před 4 lety +2

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

  • @DopeWithoutDope
    @DopeWithoutDope Před 9 lety +59

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

  • @shellymauck5389
    @shellymauck5389 Před 2 lety +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.

  • @brettnelson7518
    @brettnelson7518 Před 3 lety +2

    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!!

  • @HoneyDubey23
    @HoneyDubey23 Před 5 lety +11

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

  • @thegefster1988
    @thegefster1988 Před 5 lety +7

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

  • @yLeprechaun
    @yLeprechaun Před 4 lety +18

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

    • @ratherbwithhorses
      @ratherbwithhorses Před 4 lety +1

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

  • @THEGREENHELIUM
    @THEGREENHELIUM Před 9 lety +10

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

  • @tashaschneider1419
    @tashaschneider1419 Před 5 lety +7

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

  • @DocRosow
    @DocRosow Před 7 lety +6

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

  • @Jhayzer021
    @Jhayzer021 Před 4 lety +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.

  • @kimmer6
    @kimmer6 Před 8 lety +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.

  • @ematthews9443
    @ematthews9443 Před 7 lety +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.

  • @THEGANJASAINT
    @THEGANJASAINT Před 7 lety +2

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

  • @senatorjosephmccarthy2720

    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.

  • @drelrod5462
    @drelrod5462 Před 4 lety +8

    fascinating and vulnerable, love me some dragonfly

  • @thebiggreedybastard5462
    @thebiggreedybastard5462 Před 9 lety +46

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

    • @Simeliz
      @Simeliz Před 8 lety

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

  • @rodiroddude6204
    @rodiroddude6204 Před 3 lety +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

  • @caldwell2021
    @caldwell2021 Před 9 lety +9

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

    • @pcrana1
      @pcrana1 Před 8 lety +3

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

  • @heatherkaye8653
    @heatherkaye8653 Před 4 lety +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 Před 5 lety +8

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

  • @xxAnaconta
    @xxAnaconta Před 6 lety +10

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

  • @warrenlightning8137
    @warrenlightning8137 Před 4 lety +11

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

  • @shawmmaker1
    @shawmmaker1 Před 4 lety +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.

  • @DanielIXVIMCMLXXXI
    @DanielIXVIMCMLXXXI Před 5 lety +8

    That ending was kind of ominous.

  • @rr7firefly
    @rr7firefly Před 4 lety +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.

  • @bluedasher74
    @bluedasher74 Před 8 lety +11

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

  • @susanwedell7627
    @susanwedell7627 Před 4 lety +2

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

  • @tahall5646
    @tahall5646 Před 4 lety +9

    I loved the video. The music was appropriate.

  • @deadmetal8692
    @deadmetal8692 Před 4 lety +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.

  • @jerryalakara
    @jerryalakara Před 4 lety +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 😊

  • @snowyandkiwithybird4732
    @snowyandkiwithybird4732 Před 5 lety +1

    11:47-11:50 cute dragonfly face

  • @badoocee1967
    @badoocee1967 Před 9 lety +5

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

  • @matwithonet1984
    @matwithonet1984 Před 8 měsíci +2

    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.

  • @ashleyreynolds3931
    @ashleyreynolds3931 Před 6 lety +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!

  • @502opz346
    @502opz346 Před 5 lety +4

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

  • @funny-video-YouTube-channel

    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 !

  • @supriya5632
    @supriya5632 Před 4 lety +3

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

    • @leonmetta5153
      @leonmetta5153 Před 4 lety

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

  • @mariuszsympatyczny8221
    @mariuszsympatyczny8221 Před 7 lety +8

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

  • @onlineeducationnepal7842
    @onlineeducationnepal7842 Před 2 lety +2

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

  • @jeffosborne1147
    @jeffosborne1147 Před 4 lety +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.

  • @morgannec.4811
    @morgannec.4811 Před 5 lety +4

    Absolutely beautiful.. and the music... wow

  • @Mega12AX7
    @Mega12AX7 Před 4 lety +4

    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 😁

  • @funkworthrollin4959
    @funkworthrollin4959 Před 4 lety +2

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

  • @mfmichele77
    @mfmichele77 Před 4 lety +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!

  • @Jinks1447
    @Jinks1447 Před 7 lety +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.

  • @ourjooniverse722
    @ourjooniverse722 Před 9 měsíci

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

  • @danielhuertas3129
    @danielhuertas3129 Před 25 dny

    They used to scare me a lot, but now I'll be scared while I love them

  • @OMEGa3FattyAcid100
    @OMEGa3FattyAcid100 Před 7 lety +10

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

  • @senseinai
    @senseinai Před 4 lety +3

    The soundtrack music is from Holst’ The Planets.

  • @lcdd9091
    @lcdd9091 Před 4 lety +10

    Truly fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing

  • @robertocorradi7571
    @robertocorradi7571 Před 5 lety +5

    Fabulous photography , Great information . . . Thank you

  • @BasilBear
    @BasilBear Před 8 lety +4

    Thank you for an excellent film!

  • @valwhit1971
    @valwhit1971 Před 5 lety +2

    Splendid.....just splendid.

  • @domingodeanda233
    @domingodeanda233 Před 4 lety +1

    I have always wondered about Dragon Flys

  • @Angel-nr8td
    @Angel-nr8td Před 7 lety +13

    excellent video thank you so much

  • @Gaburierairuze
    @Gaburierairuze Před 3 lety +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

  • @earthlen
    @earthlen Před 9 lety +14

    Beautiful video

  • @joshgaona
    @joshgaona Před 9 lety +5

    awesome video and excellent choice in music too!

  • @annalisa14
    @annalisa14 Před 4 lety +8

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

  • @dominicdumarang9081
    @dominicdumarang9081 Před 4 lety +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!

  • @cardiacade
    @cardiacade Před 9 lety +3

    Awesome.

  • @saragrant9749
    @saragrant9749 Před 9 měsíci

    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!

  • @chapter4444
    @chapter4444 Před 4 lety +1

    That jaw is amazing

  • @RuanthGrain
    @RuanthGrain Před rokem +1

    Dragonfly probably one of my favorite insects

  • @zhaniahernandez7722
    @zhaniahernandez7722 Před 4 lety +3

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

  • @10Gmeister01
    @10Gmeister01 Před 9 lety +3

    That was really well done.

  • @travisyayes6343
    @travisyayes6343 Před 4 lety +3

    We call them mosquito hawks in Louisiana

  • @valsarte
    @valsarte Před 4 lety +1

    i love this docu film on dragonfly!

  • @hunterpruett5640
    @hunterpruett5640 Před 6 lety +1

    Incredible.

  • @DopeWithoutDope
    @DopeWithoutDope Před 9 lety +67

    Good video but the narrator sounds like he's eating eclairs during the dialogue.

  • @41Shyra7
    @41Shyra7 Před 9 lety +2

    terrestrial and celestial

  • @MantisKiller
    @MantisKiller Před 5 lety +4

    This was so beautifully shown and well explained!

  • @cyberswiper6317
    @cyberswiper6317 Před 6 lety +1

    Loads of these visit my garden because I live in a place that used to be a marshland a long time ago plus hundreds of flies like gnats go in my garden

  • @junefox4172
    @junefox4172 Před 4 lety +7

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

  • @lordbyron3603
    @lordbyron3603 Před 4 lety

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

  • @RageGamer-iz5tj
    @RageGamer-iz5tj Před 7 lety +3

    I've neverd seen a dragon fly nymph before

  • @CariABray
    @CariABray Před 4 lety +2

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

  • @jadc5377
    @jadc5377 Před 5 lety +2

    so beautiful