The joy of flight and an apple-green mate: my week as an emperor dragonfly

Monday

I was the terror of the pond. I stalked the muddy bottom for two years and lived as a monster. Larvae, crustaceans, worms, snails, leeches, tadpoles, even small fish: I ate them all, catching them with my snap-trap extending jaws. But – well, I suppose we all have this feeling sometimes – life is pretty good but it’s time for something new.

Tuesday

I’m an emperor dragonfly, and that means I spend most of my life underwater. When I was a larva, eating and not dying were my sole concerns. I thought that would be enough for the rest of my life, but I was wrong.

Wednesday

This was the day, then. I climbed up the stem of a reed. Suddenly the world was dry. And dazzlingly bright. And full of new opportunities. I had no idea what they were. Only that they had to be grasped.

Thursday

Looking back on that day, it’s still hard to understand. I doubt if anyone but a fellow dragonfly ever could. Once out of the water and holding fast to my reed, I sort of redistributed my body fluids. I willingly became someone else. Someone quite different. I pushed my head and legs out of my old larval skin. And my wings. The wings of an angel! Well, that was a surprise.

Friday

Even today I look back on that maiden flight with the self-excusing indulgence we view all our youthful follies. I clung to that damn reed for three hours, partly drying out and partly wondering what the hell to do next. Then – quite suddenly – I was flying. Just a few yards, then I rested again, feeling as if I had crossed a continent. Ha! You should see me today: four wings, four-inch wingspan, as big a dragonfly as you’ll ever find. I’m fast, direct – and just as hungry as I was in my former life. I catch butterflies on the wing and eat them without bothering to perch.

Saturday

There’s an aspect to life on the wing that never occurred to me in my dragon days. Other dragonflies. This particular place above the reeds is my place and I patrol it in sharp bursts of aerial action with lots of cornering. Don’t want any other males round here, thank you very much. And soon – very soon I hope – I’ll meet a lovely apple-green female. When that happens I’ll clasp her lovingly by the head and we’ll fly off together like humans riding a tandem. Only better, because after our flight we’ll do the great deed in a glorious soixante-neuf position.

Emperor dragonfly CV

Lifespan Two years as a dragon, two months as an angel

Eating habits Everything as a dragon, butterflies as an angel

Hobbies Dizzying bursts of acceleration

Sexual preferences Apple-green angels with four wings

Photograph by Alan Harris/Getty