noun
A general term for dragonflies; the kanji spelling 麦藁蜻蛉 is literary and rarely used in modern writing.
夏になると、田んぼの上をたくさんのむぎわらとんぼが飛んでいる。
In summer, many dragonflies fly over the rice paddies.
蜻蛉 is a more common word for dragonfly, while 麦藁蜻蛉 is a literary variant with the same meaning.
The kanji 麦藁 (wheat straw) and 蜻蛉 (dragonfly) combine to form a poetic name for dragonflies, possibly from their association with wheat fields. The exact origin is uncertain.