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dragonflies!
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) |
On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:44:49 -0400, wrote:
eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Send me some naked pics of yourself and I'll send a cure. This space for rent |
"*muffin*" wrote in message ... eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) They might eat some small goldfish now & again, but hey also eat lots of mosquito larvae. Adult dragon flies eat lots of mosquitos! Do everything you can to attract them to your pond. Jacqui |
*muffin* wrote:
eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? Don't get rid of them -- enjoy them! They're beautiful things (even to an entomophobe like me). (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) The nymphs will eat fry -- I hadn't heard that they could eat anything much bigger than themselves, though. And they also eat mosquito larvae (although the fish probably take care of that problem, too). -- Kizhe |
"*muffin*" wrote in message ... eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) ============================= I have them as well. I've never been stung by one. -- McKoi.... the frugal ponder... EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED. My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
"*muffin*" wrote:
eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Don't get rid of them and don't be scared, they are way cool. They eat other bugs like mosquitoes. Nymphs do eat very, very young goldfish - something less than a quarter of an inch I'd say. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo. |
*muffin* wrote:
eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Like everyone said, they are good to have. They do not sting. The very big ones can bite but, you have to grab them before they will (childhood lesson). My youngest and I watched a pair mate yesterday (something they do continually). They decoupled and the female proceed to lay eggs while the male buzzed around and tried to chase us off. After the female left the male hung around a few more hours and would buzz me if I got to close to the eggs. In the afternoons they swarm high over the house like swallows eating bugs. I read somewhere the other day that they can eat 1,000 skeeters a day (How do they figure that kind of thing out? Sounds made up to me.). Happy ponding. Mark B. |
"Reel Mckoi" wrote:
"*muffin*" wrote in message ... eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) ============================= I have them as well. I've never been stung by one. Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting. |
eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Like everyone said, they are good to have. They do not sting. The very big ones can bite but, you have to grab them before they will (childhood lesson). My youngest and I watched a pair mate yesterday (something they do continually). They decoupled and the female proceed to lay eggs while the male buzzed around and tried to chase us off. After the female left the male hung around a few more hours and would buzz me if I got to close to the eggs. In the afternoons they swarm high over the house like swallows eating bugs. I read somewhere the other day that they can eat 1,000 skeeters a day (How do they figure that kind of thing out? Sounds made up to me.). Happy ponding. Mark B. And it's fun to watch when they first crawl out of their old skins and spread their wings to dry. I don't know if I've ever lost any baby fish to them (usually blame the big fish and turtles for that) but I wouldn't hold it against them if they did eat some fry. I've never had one bite me although I've had a few land on him when I was sitting in the pond. Gabrielle |
Don't get rid of them and don't be scared, they are way cool. They eat
other bugs like mosquitoes. Nymphs do eat very, very young goldfish - something less than a quarter of an inch I'd say. lol ok, guess I should clarify it! I am NOT scared of the critters, I think they are beautiful! I was 'scared' for what they should DO to my fish! Muffin had to do an oral report on dragonflies in 9th grade science class, & can remember my face turning 'red' when describing their mating habits! |
If you don't have something in your pond eating infant fish you are going to be overrun by them. Animals reproduce over the numbers needed because they are all food for each other. Besides adult fish eat dragonfly nymphs. They bite with their mouths, no stingers on their tails. Just don't grab one and you'll be fine. IF you provide a WATER source Mother Nature takes that as an open invitation and all sorts of things show up. From ameobas to algae to worms to insects (over 5,000 live all or part of their lives in water) to frogs, turtles, newts, snakes, birds, mammals, even plants, etc. The trick is to know what you can control (very little) and live with what you can't. kathy :-) www.blogfromthebog.com this week ~ Mosquitoes! Run For Your Life! Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~ http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html |
"Andy Hill" wrote in message ... "Reel Mckoi" wrote: "*muffin*" wrote in message ... eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) ============================= I have them as well. I've never been stung by one. Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting. ===================== Good because we have loads of them out in the propagation pools. :-) -- McKoi.... the frugal ponder... EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED. My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
"Reel Mckoi" wrote:
"Andy Hill" wrote in message .. . "Reel Mckoi" wrote: "*muffin*" wrote in message ... eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) ============================= I have them as well. I've never been stung by one. Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting. ===================== Good because we have loads of them out in the propagation pools. :-) Lucky you -- I like to think of them as airborne koi :-) |
"*muffin*" wrote in message ... eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Be glad you have so many dragonflies, they are an insect you should be happy to have. Adult dragonflies eat all kinds pest insects such as mosquitoes and gnats. Dragonfly nymphs eat mostly aquatic insect, mosquito larva in particular, they might occasionally catch a few goldfish fry (new born goldfish) but other then that, they are nothing to worry about. -S |
Awhile back we had one huge bdragon fly that keep on buzzing us while we were in the hot tub. It kept up and kept up and would get right in your face time after time. It then started to buzz the TV set we had outside. All it was doing was getting small bugs. IIRC are not the blue or green colored ones actually called damsel flies? On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:43:06 GMT, Andy Hill wrote: ==="Reel Mckoi" wrote: ==="Andy Hill" wrote in message ===news:p1i8c1th7mpctfdte9liaejmd6il45bkai@4ax .com... === "Reel Mckoi" wrote: === "*muffin*" wrote in message === ... === eeek! === there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & === today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. === === ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? === === (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot === see === how something THAT small could do that!) === ============================= === I have them as well. I've never been stung by one. === === Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting. ======================== ===Good because we have loads of them out in the propagation pools. :-) === ===Lucky you -- I like to think of them as airborne koi :-) ============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o |
Damselflies will fold their wings up behind them when they light on a plant stem, dragonflies keep their wings straight out, that's how I tell them apart. k :-) |
"mark Bannister" wrote in message
... *muffin* wrote: eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Like everyone else said, they're good bugs. :) I'll just add they're the favorite food of Purple Martins, if you get those birds in your area. Gail |
I'll have to check that folding wing thing out next trip to the pond.
On 30 Jun 2005 16:02:54 -0700, "kathy" wrote: === ===Damselflies will fold their wings up behind them when they ===light on a plant stem, dragonflies keep their ===wings straight out, that's how I tell them apart. === ===k :-) ============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o |
Like everyone else said, they're good bugs. :)
I'll just add they're the favorite food of Purple Martins, if you get those birds in your area. Gail And here I thought dragonflies didn't have any predators. ~ jan ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ |
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"John Bachman" wrote in message ... Dragonflies work a particular route when feeding. Watch one sometime. He will fly in a big loop constantly covering the same airspace. They are the coolest insect (except maybe for bumblebees) and do not bite, sting or otherwise mess with humans. I like new zealand bull dog ants, they are bugs with a serious attitude problem. I especially like that they're in new zealand, and not in california. :) -S |
I like new zealand bull dog ants, they are bugs with a serious attitude problem. I especially like that they're in new zealand, and not in california. :) -S One site, http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/phil_lest...lldog_ants.htm reports that this ant has not been seen in one particular area since 1981! Would it be that some (not all because they do a lot of cleaning up) the fire ants that infest the South, would disappear! :-P . W. Dale |
Short of Nuking them nothing thats been done so far seems to have
gotten the souths fire ant population under control. There is stuff out there thats supposedly safe, and thats what I use, unfortunately unless the government does one massive applicaitn and covers the entire area of the country to erradicate them, I doubt anything is gonna work. I am fireant free for the most part, but each and every year I apply Talstar PL and it does a bang up job, but its a no win situation since the county does nothing in and along roadways, nor do neighbors etc, so about all I can do is keep em at bay........but its certainly nice not having all those mounds or being concerned about fire ants On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 06:19:21 -0600, Wilmdale wrote: === === === ===I like new zealand bull dog ants, they are bugs with a serious attitude ===problem. I especially like that they're in new zealand, and not in ===california. :) === ===-S === === ===One site, ===http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/phil_lest...lldog_ants.htm ===reports that this ant has not been seen in one particular area since 1981! ===Would it be that some (not all because they do a lot of cleaning up) the ===fire ants that infest the South, would disappear! :-P . ===W. Dale ============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o |
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On 30 Jun 2005 16:02:54 -0700, "kathy" wrote:
Damselflies will fold their wings up behind them when they light on a plant stem, dragonflies keep their wings straight out, that's how I tell them apart. k :-) Thanks for the info, I've changed "Dragon" to "Damsel" on this photo I took the other day http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/otters/pond.htm Thanks again YP |
*muffin* wrote:
eeek! there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday & today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here. ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared??? (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see how something THAT small could do that!) Please, please, please, DON'T. Dragonflies are lovely creatures. It's true, the Hellgrammites (dragonfly larvae) are pretty deadly, but they're not usually a problem for adult fish, and the adults are even better for mosquito control than bats. -- derek |
I have more than a dozen blue/aqua damselflies that fly around the
pond. They land on a blue-gray colored statue of a koi that sits on the deck. Our heat has been something fierce ... and yet the damselflies continually land on the koi statue - One at a time - and stay there for upwards of an hour. I really don't believe this is mating behavior... But who knows? Nedra in Missouri Lotus Pond: http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118 |
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