Birds, especially the more acrobatic fliers such as flycatchers, swallows, kingfishers, falcons and kites, eat countless dragonflies, while spiders, praying mantids, robber flies and even early-emerging bats will dine on dragonflies as well.

4 ) In their larval stage, which can last up to two years, dragonflies are aquatic and eat just about anything—tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other insect larvae and even each other.

Just like their parents, the larvae are fully carnivorous. They are fierce predators of any aquatic animals they can catch. Water insects like water beetles and mosquito larvae; worms; tadpoles; and even small fishes are part of their diet. Dragonfly larvae have a unique way of catching their prey.

So, let’s get started!

1. Reduction. Areas catering stagnant water create mosquito breeding places which are beneficial for dragonflies.
2. Elimination. A well-kept pond eliminates dragonfly larvae and prevents it from further maturation.
3. Addition. Frogs can also be added to prey on dragonflies.
4. Modification.

It is laying eggs. While damselflies and some dragonflies will settle on vegetation and insert eggs into stalks and other material in or near the water, many dragonflies will fly across the water dipping the end of their abdomens into the water and releasing eggs.

Underwater, aquatic plants, grasses and roots provide excellent cover to sleep among. On the land, dragonflies will sleep tucked away in buses or under leaves, or sometimes more out in plain sight, if they feel sufficiently camouflaged. Dragonflies do sleep.

Dragonflies like to sun themselves, and the warmth of flat rocks provides the perfect setting. Try a mix of light and dark rocks and observe which colour attracts more dragonflies to your area.

It’s possible, though perhaps unlikely, that these people themselves are giving off some sort of unusual scent that the dragonflies are attracted to. Alternatively, other small insects might be attracted to these people for one reason or another and those small insects might attract the dragonflies.

What we do know is that dragonflies are more numerous in high-quality water, so abundance is an indicator of healthy aquatic ecosystems, and that’s a good thing. Dragonflies are often observed long distances from the nearest water.

Snake doctor, generally used to refer to dragonflies and damselflies in the South, refers to a folk belief that dragonflies follow snakes around and stitch up injuries they may sustain, especially those that leave them in pieces.

Damselflies are smaller than dragonflies, with bodies that typically range between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches, while dragonfly bodies are typically longer than 2 inches, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. Dragonflies also have thicker, bulkier bodies, while damselfly bodies are thin like a twig.

Dragonflies come in all sorts of colors like yellow, red, brown, and blue; sometimes the wings have brown spots and bands. Male damselflies typically have iridescent wings and some type of colorful blue, green, or purple body, while the females usually have a golden brown color, even on their wings.

Dragonflies have excellent eyesight. Their compound eyes have up to 30,000 facets, each of which is a separate light-sensing organ or ommatidium, arranged to give nearly a 360° field of vision. Odonates are completely harmless – they do not sting or bite.

Dragonfly nymphs

Dragonfly larvae (nymphs) are aquatic, usually drab, with 6 legs, large eyes, and small wing buds on the back of the thorax.

Where Do Dragonflies Live? Dragonflies can be found all over the world. They typically stay close to water; most species of dragonfly spend the majority of their life underwater or close to the surface of the water.

It’s usually just another way for them to communicate with you. So, what does it mean when you suddenly have dragonflies following you or when you start to see them in your dreams? Again, a dragonfly is usually all about transformation, change and being present in the moment.

Dragonflies fly low over the pool very often, but most of them don’t touch the surface and don’t drown.