The dragonfly is an insect representing summer. At least it was so in Japan where I was born and raised. I liked to see a big dragonfly perching on a green leaf of a summer plant when I was a boy. I also liked to catch a big big dragonfly. However, many dragonflies dropped off their delicate wings as I grabbed them. I was very sad to see that, and soon I stopped catching them. I rather wanted to see them freely flying in the air and resting their wings on the leaves and the stalks of brilliant summer plants. The dragonfly became my most favorite insect in the whole world.

In the late summer, a special kind of dragonflies showed up. They were tiny, and their body color was red. We were taught that when they appeared the summer was over. So, they were the symbol of the upcoming autumn. The summer in West Japan is very hot. Even in the late summer, it is often very hot and humid. However, when I began to see the small red dragonflies flying all around me, I kind of felt that I was beginning to be caressed by the cooler air of autumn. It really was a magic of the late summer that I had as a boy.

For more information about dragonflies, visit The University of Kentucky's dragonflies site.