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! Czech !
Welcome
to the web pages dedicated to dragonflies, an order of insect, which has
survived on the planet Earth for ~ 300 million years and is unique
for its abundance in variability of form. While representatives of beetles,
butterflies and other orders of insect are often the object of zoological and
ecological study, dragonflies are relatively neglected species. This situation
in the Czech Republic is no different, however, the fact that you have looked
up these pages, the effort which has gone into creating the pages, the picture
taking and the odonatological research being carried out on the job as well as
in our free time serve as a proof that dragonflies receive at least part of the
attention they deserve.
Why
dragonflies? A pure chance may have played a role in inspiring this affection or
rather a life long dedication, however, a more profound answer is that
dragonflies are very interesting species from the zoological, ecological and
aesthetic points of view. Their characteristics have always attracted
naturalists', philosophers' and artists' attention.
' In
the beginning of the world ' dragonflies were associated with the element of
water, with floods, with light, with metamorphosis and reincarnation. In
philosophical texts, the dragonfly as well as the rainbow, were thought to
connect the separated waters above and under the heavens. Legend explaining the
origin of the word dragonfly in the Czech language has it that when a dragonfly
has flown around a person, God will weigh the person's soul. VAZKA being the
translation for dragonfly and VAZIT meaning to weigh. Plentiful symbols of
dragonflies can be found in many Indian cultures and especially in Japan whose
first emperor called his country ' The island of dragonflies '.
On these pages You can see pictures and texts from all
over the world, with emphasis on Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia ( including the
Polish part ) and Slovakia. Thanks all our colleagues for their
cooperation and those of you who will send us suggestions and materials for
publishing. Pages have been created for you by:
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