September 29, 2014--World's Fastest Insect

We were having breakfast in Cafe Rona, which is our kitchen dining room overlooking the gardens and  bay.

It was another perfect morning and the migrating birds and butterflies were feasting on the last of the flowers in Rona's perennial bed. Carbohydrate packing for their impending journeys.

"It'a also Dragonfly time," Rona said. Look how many there are darting about scooping gnats right out of the air. I've been reading about them. How they begin as naiads in ponds and other fresh water wetlands before emerging, throwing off their skins or exoskeletons, and coming into their own as amazing four-winged insects."

"Naiads?"

"That's what the water-breathing immature form of the Dragonfly is called."

"They do swoop about with great agility," I said.

"More than that. I heard that the Pentagon is studying them, how they can fly forward and backwards, up and down, and side to side. They're implanting the tiniest computer chips in their brains to see what they can learn that might be incorporated in military drones."

"Why am I not surprised," I said. "And they seem to fly very fast. I guess they have to to be able to feed off other insects while in flight."

"I looked that up to. To see how fast they can fly. And that too is amazing. About 35 miles per hour. Though Horse Flies, the fastest of insects, can hit 90."

"Really? No wonder it's so hard to swat them."

"But Dragonflies are fast and the most maneuverable. And there they are right outside our windows."

"I'd hate to be an ISIS terrorist in Iraq and be attacked by a Dragonfly drone. That would make me think twice."

"And, while I was doing my research," Rona said, not wanting to let me spoil our morning talking about jihadists, "I looked up other fastest creatures."

"Like the Cheetah," I jumped in. "They're the fastest land animals, no?"

"Correct. They can run up to 75 miles and hour."

"And what about birds? Did you look that up too?"

"Yes. The fastest bird clocked flying horizontally, in so-called flapping flight--as opposed to the Peregrine Falcon which hits an amazing 242 when diving toward its prey, is the White-Throated Needletail which clocks in at 105 miles per hour.  Pretty good, wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed. What about fish?"

"Black Marlins can swim up to 80 mph. Which to me is remarkable ."

"All of this is," I said, "And, finally, how about humans. Your know, 'The World's Fastest Human,' the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. How fast can he run?"

"Only about 28 miles an hour. Not that fast when you think about it."

"Pathetic," I said, playing along.

"But faster than chipmunks and squirrels, 7 and 12 mph respectively. And," Rona added, feeling good about all her newly-acquired knowledge, "thankfully we're much faster than cockroaches which can race across the kitchen floor at only 3 and a half mph. Though when you see one you think it's going 100 miles an hour."

"But with most animals able to move along much faster than us I suppose that's why we need all our weapons." Rona looked at me skeptically. "To protect ourselves from Cheetahs, Tigers, and the like."

"There you go again," Rona said, "Can't we just enjoy the Dragon Flies?"