Dragonflies Eat Mosquitoes

In addition to being a mosquito's natural predator, dragonflies are an exciting and distinctive species of insect. Due to their alleged capacity to eradicate thousands of mosquitoes, dragonflies are frequently referred to as "mosquito hawks." Like most natural mosquito predators, dragonflies eat their fair share of mosquitoes, but not enough to have a meaningful impact on mosquito populations in the wild.

However, one characteristic that sets the dragonfly apart from most other predators is the fact that mosquito larvae are one of their main food sources when they are in the aquatic larval stage. Since they prefer to eat during the day as adults, when most mosquitoes are hiding in shrubs and timberlines, they will actually cause the most harm to mosquito populations during this period, which can last up to six years. These ravenous and fearless small predators, known as dragonfly naiads, will take on practically any aquatic creature, including other naiads.