Inhabiting the planet for over 300 million years, dragonflies are fascinating aerial ambush predators.We’ve all feared those yellow wasps through our lives, but apparently, wasps fear someone too. Dragonflies, nature’s most successful predator, eat wasps as well as other small insects and flies, helping humans by controlling the pest population.Dragonflies have a success rate of 95% when it comes to hunting.According to reports, they can eat hundreds of mosquitoes per day.The design of their eyes provides them with nearly 360-degree vision, and they have one blind spot directly behind them. Their remarkable vision helps them in keeping a watch on a single prey and avoid mid-air collisions. Dragonflies can judge a prey target’s speed and trajectory and change their flight to intercept it.Do dragonflies kill other insects?Unlike bees, wasps have a bright black and yellow color of warning and a painful sting, but that doesn’t stop dragonflies from making wasps their prey. Its extraordinary vision and design aids it in the chase of its prey and finally the catch of its prey. Let’s look at some other interesting facts:Nymph dragonflies hunt mosquito larvae, other aquatic insects, tadpoles, tiny fish, and other aquatic creatures.An adult dragonfly preys on insects in the air instead of land like mosquitoes, biting flies, mayflies, and other insects.When dragonflies catch their meal, they perform two things: first, their front legs bend up to encircle it and prevent it from fleeing. Second, their hinged jaws clamp down and shred the fly’s wings, rendering it immobile.Smaller insects are grabbed in flight, the dragonfly’s legs seize the insect prey, and the prey is unable to escape due to the spines on its legs. The dragonfly frequently eats its insect food while still flying.Though dragonflies feed on a number of insects, they also serve as food for many diverse aquatic creatures. Amphibians, birds, and even mammals feed on dragonflies. They are eaten by fish, frogs, newts, and other larger aquatic species that eat dragonflies which are smaller in size.Birds, lizards, bats, and even spiders eat adult dragonflies. What do dragonflies feed on?Dragonflies belong to the species of flying insects. Both aquatic nymphs and flying adults are among the world’s most powerful and aggressive bug hunters.Dragonfly nymphs dwell in the water and prefer to hang out on aquatic plants while waiting for their food, which might be any little mammal.The nymph unfurls its labium (mouthpart that reaches past the head) to capture its prey when it gets close enough. Large dragonfly nymphs may even eat minnows or tadpoles.Adult dragonflies will consume any insect they can get their hands on. It feeds on a variety of bugs and insects, including mosquitoes, midges, butterflies, moths, bees, flies, and even other dragonflies, in addition to mosquitoes and midges.Larger dragonflies will consume their own body weight every day to make up their insect meals.What pests do dragonflies eat?Wasp, bees, butterflies, ants, and other yellow bugs, dragonflies hunt and eat them all. They are one of nature’s best pest control.These amazing creatures are found in many different colors; some are blue, yellow, green, red, and even gold.Dragonflies spend the majority of their lives in the water, where they lay their eggs and live as nymphs (larvae), lasting up to five years. Dragonfly eggs can take anything from one to five weeks to hatch.The nymph will eventually crawl out of water and lose its skin, transforming into adult dragonflies.The life span of the average adult dragonfly is substantially shorter, sometimes only a few months.Plants are not pollinated by dragonflies, although they will occasionally land on flowers to grab and eat an insect that is pollinating the blossom.Bees, black flies, fruit flies, and mosquitoes are among the insects they will consume.Dragonflies commonly eat bees, robber flies, and black flies. Mosquitoes, ants, and black flies dragonflies are also eaten by dragonflies.A giant dragonfly can consume upwards of 100 mosquitos in a single day.Dragonflies are born from an egg that has been deposited near water. For some dragonfly species, the baby dragonfly will live in water for up to two years. What does it mean when there are lots of dragonflies?What does it usually mean when there are lots of dragonflies in the same place? Let’s take a look at some more interesting facts about dragonflies to find out!Dragonflies usually swarm at a place when they need food, and a lot of insects are present for them to eat.They can be found near standing water like near ponds and wetlands where they can breed and eat mosquitoes frequently.Some weather conditions, particularly during hot and wet summer periods, can provide excellent breeding conditions for dragonflies; hence the swarm. Apart from this, many cultures consider a swarm of dragonflies to be a good omen. The dragonfly, like the butterfly, is linked to light, transformation, and human progress. So keep a look out for dragonflies near your home!We now know that dragonflies eat not just the wasp but also bees, beetles, yellow jackets, mosquitoes, and other small insects.Many of these pests like the yellow wasp, bees, and some ants sting and bite humans, so dragonflies are actually doing us a favor.In fact, a yellow-jacket has many special qualities, like the fact that it can sting a number of times. It may even aggressively chase after the ones that dare to come for them and eat them. But all this doesn’t scare a dragonfly; they still manage to hunt them down and annihilate them.Dragonflies are nature’s incredible creation. They have even motivated humans to develop new technology based on their extraordinary flight and vision abilities, from drones to artificial visual systems.Sadly, dragonflies require protection from the threats posed by people, such as pollution and habitat loss.There are sanctuaries all around the world committed to their protection and conservation. The very least we humans can do in return is support habitat conservation so that they can live for another 300 million years.
Inhabiting the planet for over 300 million years, dragonflies are fascinating aerial ambush predators.
