Dragonfly hatched in my basement!

[CountryEscape]

OK, I could not believe this, but this morning there is a dragonfly that is perched on the filter for my basement pool. I had seen these squiggly little guys a few days ago, knew they were not mosquitos, but wasn't sure what they were. Never got around to posting a pic and this one is really blurry, but they look very similar to mosquito larva only a little larger. I'd seen some that were bright red last summer, and now am wondering if those were the scarlet dragonflies that I saw every now and then!


So this morning I saw the dragonfly perched on the filter batting. Amazing! Good thing is that I have pond plants down there, too, with florescent lights, so am hoping they will find what they need for food, although no flies that I'm aware of. What do dragonflies eat? If it's flies, they are sunk. :-(



Just thought I'd post this. There are more larva in the laundry basket with quilt batting. Guess the pond had larva in it when I pumped some of the water into the basement pool. Maybe the larva would have lived until summer, I'm not sure how their life cycle goes.

Here's a pic of my filter and pool set-up. Yeah, I know, VERY redneck, but it works!

 

[sissy]

hey like that plastic shelf filter system amazing what you come up with when you have to move fast .I guess by spring you open the door you are going to release hundreds of dragonflies .I wonder if that brings you luck

 

[addy1]

Stick a banana or apple down there and get some fruit flies going, that will give them some food. They are bug eaters.

As Nymphs, the dragonflies eat mosquito larvae, other aquatic insects and worms, and for a little variety even small aquatic vertebrates like tadpoles and small fish.
Once they are ready to leave their aquatic homes, they crawl above the water surface, molt to shed their skin one last time before they take to the skies as elegant dragonflies.

Adult Dragonflies are born rulers of their domain and they prove it to just about every insect that thinks it can pull a fast one on this killing machine. The adult dragonfly uses the basket formed by its legs to catch insects while flying. The adult dragonfly likes to eat gnats, mayflies, flies, mosquitoes and other small flying insects. They sometimes eat butterflies, moths and bees too.
From bees to mosquitoes, dragonflies make a meal out of what they please and can hunt down insects on a whim, callously plucking them out of thin air after out-flying outmaneuvering and them in the chase that does not normally last very long.
To give you a little insight, the dragonfly that is many times the size of a mosquito or a housefly needs to flap its wings a mere 30 times a minute when compared to a mosquito’s 600 times a minute and the housefly’s 1000 flaps a minute requirement to keep them flying and in peak maneuverability. Such is the power that the dragonfly is equipped with and given its low-energy speed capability, very, very few insects can escape its basket shaped grabbing limbs that it uses to clutch on to its prey before crushing the critter into a gooey mass, with its powerful mandibles and swallowing it.
Adult dragonflies eat just about anything that is edible and can be caught. They are a treasure for humanity because they keep mosquito populations under strict control by feasting on them when they are in abundance. Similarly, they also feed on ants, termites, butterflies, gnats, bees and other insects and tend to hunt in groups when large colonies of ants or termites are spotted.

 

[sissy]

wow great info addy did not know they eat butterflies and bees

 

[addy1]

wow great info addy did not know they eat butterflies and bees

I noticed our mosquito and fly population is really low, wish they would eat those darn stink bugs. We had a bunch of dragon flies last summer and probably more this summer. Yeah if you had a bee colony, you might not want a bunch of dragon files. We have tons of bees, butterflies and dragon flies, they must balance out somehow.

We were at the beach in florida last summer, looked up and saw hundreds of dragon flies, they must have been group hunting some bug, like the article mentions.

 

[sissy]

I get lots of dragonflies here and they are always hovering over the pond .Yeh would be nice if they could do away with the stink bugs ,I just hope there not as bad this summer ,being that the winter was warm they may be worse .I lost all the apples on my trees ,they taste like stink bug

 

[addy1]

We lost our corn, tomatoes, apples cause of those darn bugs.

 

[sissy]

funny thing was they did not touch my peach trees or winter pear trees and regular pear trees and the left my tomatoes alone .Gosh the wind outside is getting even stronger

 

[j.w]

Really neat country,hope you can get some bugs for them to eat. Do like addy said and put some ripe fruit down there and hope the little flies come. It's winter so don't know if the flies are active now or not?

 

[addy1]

If you have some outdoor potting soil, bring it into the warm, something will hatch, gnats, lil flies. Have been there done that lol

 

[CountryEscape]

Thanks very much for the info, Addy. I will get some bananas tomorrow. The dragonfly is still on the quilt batting tonight, or at least there is one there. Maybe it's another one! I see at least 5 more larva in the laundry basket. I brought plants in from outside, but a couple of months ago, so I guess anything that might have hatched would have already. We'll see if any more develop to full grown dragonflies. I sure hope so, I think it's really neat!

 

[Waterbug]

Looks like a damselfly to me.

 

[CountryEscape]

I agree, Waterbug. BTW, this morning I found one with full wings, one with half wings, and 2 that were in the process of shedding and getting wings. I still don't have any bugs to feed them, darn it, but the biggest one moved to the plants to perch on them. I have to be careful not to put out any bug killer in the basement so they don't get into that. If they walk around on the floor they will get into it, though, as it lasts 6 months. I put a piece of apple and orange down there, as I don't have any bananas yet. Will do my best to draw in some bugs, yuck! But, gotta feed the dragonflies!

 

[HARO]

If you have an Aquarium Society in your area, you should be able to find someone who can supply you with a fruit fly starter culture. Some larger pet shops carry them as well. Worth a try!
John

 

[CountryEscape]

Hmm ... I would probably have to drive 2 hours to find any type of Aquarium or place where they have plants inside all winter long. Finding a pet store with something like this might be more like. I wonder if they would eat crickets? I just don't necessarily want crickets chirping in my basement, though If I could put them in a container, open to the dragonflies where they could get in and out, but the crickets couldn't, that might work, but not sure if they would/could eat something this large, especially when they have first "hatched". Still have a couple of adults, but have found numerous dead ones already, too. :sad: