Mosquito Hawk

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Odonata

Suborder: Anisoptera

Growing up in south Florida, mosquitoes (Culex nigripalpus) were the unofficial celebrated state insect! They were ubiquitous, always plenteous in numbers, loved humans, and all the residents in our sleepy coastal town just loved them swarming over our skins. The stings, the whelps, the itchiness, and the loss of blood were accepted as giving back to nature to prevent our beloved mosquitoes from becoming extinct…. Well, looking back, it is easy to see that our green initiative was ahead of its time and highly successful. Just pay a visit to the sunshine state, and you’ll get the point….



In order for the female to produce eggs she needs a blood meal. Humans are nothing more than a mobile bipedal blood bank for these aggravating and annoying arthropods. If you didn’t know better you’d think that Floridians were a crazy lot; everywhere you look, you would see people walking around slapping themselves. Mosquitoes have a field day poking at humans. Is it not surprising that Florida has more species of mosquitoes than any other state. Of the 80 species calling Florida home, 33 are downright pesky, and 13 are capable of transmitting pathogens causing diseases (http://mosquito.ifas.ufl.edu/Mosquitoes_of_Florida.htm).


There is another arthropod after the order of Odonata that doesn’t sting or bite humans but loves to dine on mosquitoes and other harmful insects to man - the dragonfly (Anisoptera, meaning unequal winged), sometimes referred to by the locals as a mosquito hawk.

The damselflies are of the same order of Odonata (suborder, Zygoptera). The difference is during resting; the dragonfly’s wings remain outstretched while the damselfly folds its wings back atop its more slender body. This devotion is about Anisoptera, the dragonfly, also known as the mosquito hawk.

I have always been fascinated by the dragonflies: two great big bug-eyes (There are around 30,000 tiny lenses in each eye, giving them nearly a 360 degree field of vision.),

very colorful markings,












two translucent pairs of mosaic-looking wings that seem to shimmer like silver, highly maneuverable as a helicopter, some scooting over 30 mph, and possessing a hefty appetite for mosquitoes among other harmful insects.

After hundreds of kamikaze raids on my flesh over the years, there is a certain level of satisfaction of knowing that many of those winged suckers (Culex nigripalpus) will experience a slow chewable death by the mosquito hawks than a merciful quick pat on the back.

The dragonfly’s lifecycle goes through three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. If the dragon fly can avoid being eaten by a predator, it can live for several years depending upon its species. Most of its life is spent underwater as a nymph, picking off any hapless invertebrates, mostly mosquito larvae, molting many times as it develops into an adult.

Once the nymph is fully grown, the metamorphosis is complete by crawling out of the water and up the stem of a plant. The nymph sheds its skin (exuvia) there and emerges as a full grown dragonfly. Though it has six legs, it cannot walk, only fly. Dragonflies mate while airborne and the female lays thousands of eggs in the water or on vegetation near a marsh, pond, or calm backwater. For the next couple of months it will soar and mainly hunt and mate along the still waters of mosquito heaven until the wind coursing through its wings comes to an end.

In obscurity for most of its life, this amazing Anisoptera comes forth victorious over the struggles of the aquatic world. With adulthood it finally breaks free from its exuvia or outer skin, taking to the air, transformed into a powerful mosquito-eating flying machine. Even though its life is quickly coming to a close when it reaches adulthood, doesn’t the flying part appeal to us more than trying to survive in some marsh or lily pond or backwater for years being an ugly looking nymph eating mosquito larvae and the like? If we had to decide which stage of a dragonfly's life is more desireable, the choice would be easy

Wouldn’t we rather have a beautiful body (bug eyes can be cute!), capable of high performance, with a combined 60,000 eye radar system, and dual wings for maneuverability and super speed, and take our chances in the air avoiding spider webs, birds, and vehicles, while taking down mosquito aircraft for mankind? Isn't that better than the prospects of becoming frog or fish bait for several years? Forget the nymph, let’s fly!

We would have to admit that even though our life would be brief, we would choose sky over water. This way we can do something good for mankind up here in plain view of everyone, and even get noticed in the process! And don’t forget we get to participate in perpetuating the species, too!


What would we ever get if we stayed in some pond, obscurity and become fish food? Nobody is going to notice our contributions to mankind with all the mosquito larvae consumed down here underwater, out of sight out of mind. And there is still the matter of the fish and the frogs trying to do us in to satisfy its bellies. And where's the fun in that! When was the last time you took a close look at nymphs; they ain’t nothin’ but homely. Yep, we would probably trade the pond and the years for the air and a few months. Put my name on the sky roster; I'm out of here!

But somebody has to do the pond job? Even though it is obscure and dangerous down there, it benefits man for Anisoptera to keep those mosquitoes from all hatching and releasing into the world. God surely knew what He was doing by leaving the Anisoptera underwater for nearly its entire life. If everybody desires to be an adult dragonfly who is going to be the nymph dragonfly? And those nasty wing suckers that escaped the nymphs will have to face the mosquito hawks that graduated from pond school.

Obviously, choices are not the way things work in the phylum Arthropoda. The Anisoptera must live out its life cycle in the water and the air to fulfill its purpose for being here. It simply does what it does because that is the way God designed it. God, on the other hand, gave us the power to choose whether to obey Him or not. He didn’t code our DNA with auto response to the design purpose – to glorify Him; rather He embedded within our DNA a will to choose to glorify Him, unlike the dragonfly that has no will of its own. Among all of God’s creatures, we alone possess the power of choice!


For that one in a million out there, most of us would not choose the nymph stage; we would prefer someone else to do that part so we could stretch our wings and fly in the open air, forgetting all that underwater stuff. But as with Anisoptera, we are both called by our Creator to develop, despite the adversity of the world around us, into something completely alien to the current environment we find ourselves, in preparation for a higher purpose. For Anisoptera it is flying and reproducing then dying; for us it is Christ-likeness (Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18; 1 Jn 3:2; Psa 17:15) and eternal life (1Jn 2:25; 5:11). The dragonfly benefits man physically while the Christian helps mankind spiritually. But dissimilar to the mosquito hawk, our development does not come naturally, auto-responsively or easily; we must will to work at it.



The Apostle Paul instructed us to not be conformed or patterned, or molded or fashioned (same Greek verb found in 1 Pet 1:14) to this world (or age; cf. 1 Jn 2:16), but to be transformed (Rom 12:2). The Greek verb for transformed is where we get our English word metamorphosis. It is the transformation of worldliness into Christ-likeness (cf. 2 Pet 3:18); our inward man undergoes changes reflected by an outward change in behavior. How is that done since spiritual metamorphosis is not automatic like with the natural metamorphosis of the Anisoptera?


If Paul was answering this question he would say by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2; cf. Eph 4:22-23), the control center of our intellect (thoughts, attitudes), emotions (feelings), and will (actions). So, how do we renovate the mind? By thinking and doing things God’s way, our minds are renewed. We accomplish this through reading, studying, and obeying His Word. Now that may be a little disappointing to some because it is nothing mystical, esoteric, or enigmatic. Now it may be all of those things because people fail to read the Bible. But if it remains hidden it is because of spiritual blindness (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).


We need to learn, love, and live God’s Word (cf. 2 Pet 3:18; Jn 14:15) for transformation to take place. As our mind experiences daily spiritual metamorphosis, molting into Christ-likeness, we come to approve and desire God’s will for our lives. We discover that God’s will is good for us (cf. Rom 8:28) and pleasing to God. This is a win/win relationship between God and man.



Unless we choose to go through the whole process of spiritual metamorphosis in all situations we will never figure out what God’s will is for us and always question God’s motives in the pond circumstances of life. Without transformation we will never do or enjoy the will of God. Do you recall some of those edgy spiritual paradoxes: to go up we must go down, to get we have to let go, to satisfy we have to deny, or to live we must die? Here's another one, to soar we have to swim.


Anisoptera teaches us that nearly all of its life is undergoing metamorphosis by swimming virtually in obscurity for the benefit of mankind, its soaring in the sky after metamorphosis is shortlived. This is depressing news unless we learn a thing about contentment. Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, ESV,



Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. (12) I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. (13) I can do all things through him who strengthens me.



Folks, we cannot experience this metamorphosis on our own, no matter what the strength of our resolve may be. We need to be energized by the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 15:5; Php 4:13). And in case we forgot, God is with us in the backwater as we seek to help the brethren and fallen man (Heb 13:5).



One day, when we least expect it, we will break free from terra firma, shedding this old skin and soaring in celestial air in a glorified body (1 Cor 15:52) and our metamorphosis will be complete. But unlike Anisoptera’s short flight time, brother, we are going to fly forever in a body that is “one mean flying machine” for His glory with the seraphim furiously flapping their wings to keep up! <><