The iridescent flash you see darting over your tomato plants is not some special show put on by nature. Dragonflies are nature's most effective pest control services. While most gardeners are aware that dragonflies hunt mosquitoes, these ancient aerial acrobats provide 7 other extraordinary services that might change how you view garden care.
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Have you heard that dragonflies can predict the weather? They can actually predict the weather changes two days before your weather app can! If dragonflies are flying in groups or flying lower than normal, rain is expected soon! They are really sensitive to changes in the environment. Due to this fact, gardeners use dragonflies to figure out the best time to water and plant their plants. Dragonflies are sensitive to slight changes in the atmosphere that we cannot perceive.
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The Best Pest Control Squad
If you want mosquitoes gone, dragon flies will help but their diet is a lot bigger. Each dragon fly hunts down and eats dozens of different flying insects. This includes even small posers , and even small moths that destroy your vegetables. They have a 95% success rate when hunting (that is better than any other predator), and that makes them athe most effective pest controllers in the world. Each dragonfly eats around 600 mosquitoes every day, in addition they kill whiteflies that attack your tomatoes and even fruit flies that destroy your harvest.
Pollinator Bodyguards
Dragonflies protect your pollinators! They target and chase down the predatory insects that threaten honey bees, butterflies, and other important pollinators such as wasps and hornets. With the presence of good populations of dragonflies, there will be a decrease in predation on pollinators which means that pollination will increase now that the pollinators are safe. This will result in an increase in the quantity of your fruits and vegetables!
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Water Quality Managers
Your water feature will lure in dragonfly nymphs, who will spend 1 to 3 years living under the surface. They will act as janitors and will help clean up the water by eating mosquito and midge larvae, as well as other pests. Also, water quality will improve because of their presence. If there are dragonfly and their nymphs, stagnant water and algae overgrowth will be no issues. The nymphs will help restore balance to the water ecosystem.
Natural Fertilizer Producers
Dragonflies are also a great source of fertilizer for your garden. As they hunt and digest prey in your garden, they excrete wastes in the form of nitrogen, which the plants love. If you have plants in areas with high dragonfly activity, you will see uncontrolled and robust weed growth without added fertilizer.
Plant Disease Scouts
Due to their incredible eyesight, dragonflies can detect subtle changes in the reflection of light caused by plants in stress or in disease. Observant gardeners notice the hunting patterns of dragonflies; if they tend to steer clear of certain areas or plants, this can be an early warning of disease or pest issues that are undetectable to the human eye.
Climate Control Assistants
Your garden's microclimate stays within a healthy range with a lot of dragonflies present. Air circulation from dragonfly movement helps fungi damage and encourages plant photosynthesis. Additionally, dragonflies help humidity spikes from tiny flies around your garden.
Ways to Boost Employee Satisfaction in Dragonfly
Many don’t know that attracting dragonflies to your gardens can actually be quite easy! Any shallow water source will do; even a bird bath will work, especially if the water is changed frequently. Place several vertical resting spots for dragonflies. These can be tall garden stakes or bamboo poles. This way they’ll have spots to rest in between hunting trips. To provide a steady source of food for the smaller insects that dragonflies eat, make sure to plant native flowers that are in bloom at varying times.
Avoid using broad-spectrum pesticides that eliminate dragonfly food sources. Dragonflies rely on a abundant population of small insects. When you spray, you remove their grocery stores, and force dragonflies to move to areas with more abundant populations of their predators.
Next time you spot a dragonfly in your garden, think about what you are seeing… A 300-million-year-old design! These living helicopters have managed the garden long before the first human gardens and will continue to do it for free, as long as you provide the habitat and respect they deserve.
