Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden – Dragonfly
  • October 2, 2018
  • Posted by: Mike McQueen, Charles Ray, and Kerry Smith
  • in Lawn & Garden
dragonfly
Dragonfly

*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.

Aliases: skimmer, darner, clubtail

Wanted For: Preying on unsuspecting flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies, and midges.

Family History: A deadly predator able to catch prey in mid-air. Dragonfly larvae (nymphs) live in water and are efficient hunters, eating mosquito larvae and other insects, snails, and small fish.

Known Accomplices: Often seen in the company of its relative, the damselfly (lower right) another insect predator. Don’t be fooled; when at rest, dragonflies hold their wings outstretched while damselflies fold their wings closed over their bodies.

Sightings: Last seen near garden ponds, streams, and other bodies of water.

Mike McQueen, Regional Extension Agent, Home Grounds, Gardens and Home Pests; Charles Ray, Research Fellow, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University; and Kerry Smith, State Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Auburn University

Reviewed November 2021, Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283

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