I thought it was a dragonfly at first pass, but when I asked the Seek app to identify it, I learned that I had happened upon a red-footed cannibalfly, a type of robber or assassin fly. Think peregrine falcon of the insect world. It lays in wait for a large insect, grabs it in mid-air, injects a venom to paralyze it, as well as digestive enzymes, so that internal organs become a liquid that it sucks through its mouthparts. Go here and here to read about this amazing predator.

Because of their large compound eyes, they have excellent vision. Go here for a related post about compound eyes.

Watch full screen here.

Go here to view how full screen. Examples of biomimicry in the development of drones are presented.