Wonders of Allah in Dragonflies

The dragonfly has a flawless flying capacity, so much so that it can stop suddenly and begin to fly in the opposite direction at whatever speed or in whatever direction it chooses. Moreover, it can hang in the air in a suitable position to attack its prey. In addition, it can head towards its prey, making agile turns to do so. These are only some of the maneuvering skills of the dragonfly that have provided inspiration for helicopters, the products of today's advanced technology.

The body of the dragonfly has a helical structure wrapped with a metal covering. The dragonfly, which can have various colors, from ice blue to maroon, has two pairs of wings on its back, one pair in front and the other pair to the rear. The wings work in a coordinated way. In other words, as the two front wings rise, the two wings at the rear descend. The movement of the wings is accomplished by the movements of two opposite groups of muscles. One end of the muscles is attached to extensions in the body in the shape of a lever. While one group of muscles contracts and causes a pair of wings to rise, the other group of muscles loosens to the same degree and causes the second pair of wings to fall. In fact, helicopters that are produced using dragonflies as their model descend and ascend using the same principle.

The perfect flight of dragonflies is realized by these four large independent wings carrying its body's weight. This feature enables the insect to make sudden maneuvers, increase its speed and fly at a speed that reaches 10 meters (33 feet) per second.

The sight capacity of the dragonfly, which can make sudden maneuvers at very high speeds, is also perfect. The eye of the dragonfly is considered, in scientific circles, as the finest insect eye in the world. Each of its eyes contains 30,000 individual lenses. The eyes look like two hemispheres covering half of its head, and they provide a very broad field of vision for the insect. With these extraordinary eyes, the dragonfly can almost see what's happening behind its back.

As shown above, the dragonfly has a perfectly structured individual system. The slightest deficiency in any one part of these systems will cause the other systems to become useless. However, all the systems have been created perfectly and the creature survives by means of this. The unique design in the dragonfly belongs to Allah. He has the knowledge of all creation.