What do dragonflies eat, and how do they hunt?

Dragonflies are fascinating creatures and important indicator species for wetland ecosystems. But do you know what they eat and how dragonflies hunt for prey?

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) biologist Ash Pidwerbesky delivers the scoop on this fascinating episode of Duck Doctors. You may be amazed to learn that those dainty dragonflies flitting across the pond are actually ferocious predators on the hunt!

Dragonflies and nymphs have excellent sight and can see almost 360 degrees around themselves as they hunt. If that isn’t scary enough, dragonfly nymphs have a unique, retractable lower jaw with pincers that they shoot out to snatch their prey in the water.

So, what do they eat? Pidwerbesky explains that dragonflies and nymphs have quite different diets:

• Nymphs eat mainly aquatic insects, insect larvae and small crustaceans, but will also eat tadpoles and small fish.
• Adult dragonflies eat flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, mosquitoes — and even other dragonflies.

People often ask us hopefully whether dragonflies eat mosquitoes. While the adults do catch and eat mosquitoes, they’re not a primary source of their nutrition. But let’s go back to that pond, where the nymphs are busy eating the mosquito larvae before they even have a chance to mature.

And as nesting season begins, the ducks will get in on it too. Many ducks include mosquito larvae among the aquatic invertebrate species they eat as part of their wild diets.

Want to see more?

Check out the Duck Doctors playlist on YouTube to watch DUC scientists with insights into wetlands, waterfowl and wildlife — from the people who study them, including:

• What do ducks eat? Answered by DUC research scientist Lauren Bortolotti
• There’s a duck nest in my yard. What should I expect and what should I do? Answered by DUC conservation scientist Vanessa Harriman.