Dragonflies

Facts, Identification & Control

Latin Name

Order Odonata

Appearance

Adult dragonflies have two pair of wings. The back, or hind, wings are slightly larger at the base than the front wings. Dragonflies do not fold their wings when they land. Their wings extend from their body even when they are resting.

How Did I Get Dragonflies?

Dragonflies thrive around ponds and streams, so homeowners with waterfront properties are more likely to encounter them. Swimming pools also attract these insects. A dragonfly may accidentally enter an open window, but it won't survive for long indoors.

How Serious Are Dragonflies?

Dragonflies are not harmful to people. Though they will approach humans, they do not bite or sting. Dragonflies may even be beneficial, since the diet of immature dragonflies includes nuisance pests such as mosquito larvae.

How Do I Get Rid of Dragonflies?

What Orkin Does
Your local Orkin technician is trained to help manage dragonflies and similar pests. Since every building or home is different, your Orkin technician will design a unique program for your situation.

Orkin can provide the right solution to keep dragonflies in their place…out of your home, or business.

Diet

Adult dragonflies may eat:

• Mosquitoes
• Swarming ants
• Termites
• Gnats

Reproduction

Adult dragonflies deposit their eggs in water or on aquatic plants. When the eggs hatch, the immature dragonflies, called naiads, live in the water.

The naiads have gills in their abdomen so they can breathe under water. They also use the gills for a form of "jet propulsion," so they can move around in the water. Naiads eat mosquito larvae and other aquatic insects. Large naiads can even eat tadpoles and small fish.

When it is time for the naiad to change into an adult dragonfly, it crawls out of the water. Its skin splits and the adult emerges. This process takes several hours, and it usually happens at night.

After their wings are dry, the adult dragonflies fly away to find food. They return to the water to mate and lay eggs. The male dragonflies hover over the water and are often territorial about the breeding site.

More Information

Dragonflies are large flying insects. They have been on earth for many years. Fossil records suggest that dragonflies in the Jurassic period may have been much larger than modern dragonflies. Dragonflies are members of the insect order Odonata. There are several species in the United States.

^{Photo of a Dragonfly}

Most dragonflies can be considered beneficial. Some people call them "mosquito hawks" because they eat mosquitoes.