Obelisking - It's a Thing (for Dragonflies at least)

ImageThis is not a sunbathing dragonfly. In fact, it's quite the opposite. This is obelisking - otherwise known as the obelisk position - and is something that dragonflies and damselflies do for thermoregulation. Our sibling site, the Ark in Space has a new article about this behavior, with some great photos as well. I won't go much into the whys and wherefores of this here, because the article on the Ark is not long - but it's just another reminder that the animal kingdom is simply amazing! By the way, the picture above is of the Halloween pennant dragonfly, a species of which I was blissfully unaware of until today - but now it's in my Top Ten Insect Names list for sure! The picture shows it Obeliskmaxxing - which is a very new term coined in the last ten minutes...