Do Dragonflies Collect Pollen?

Dragon flies do not collect pollen but they may land on pollen filled flowers to catch the insects that collect pollen. Dragonflies eat insects including pollinators like bees and flies. Dragonflies will not pollenate flowers because they don’t have any way to collect and hold the pollen like bees. The pollen will just fall off or be blown off the dragonfly when it flies away.

What is pollination?

Pollination happens when pollen from the male anther is is transferred to the female stigma.  The pollen can be picked up by an insect landing on the flower. When the insect flies to another flower of the same species, the pollen is transferred and the flower is fertilized, which is called pollination.

Do dragonflies eat pollen?

Dragonflies do not eat pollen, dragonflies eat insects. They are a top predator in the insect world and will eat pollinators like bees, flies and even wasps (not pollen).

How plants attract dragonflies to your garden

Plants attract dragonflies by attracting the insects that dragonflies eat. Dragonflies will eat bees and flies attracted to bright and fragrant flowers in the garden. Dragonflies are not attracted to your garden to eat the pollen or to collect nectar but instead to eat the pollinators.

Benefits of dragonflies for your garden

Dragonflies are beneficial for your garden, whether you are growing, flowers, fruit trees or vegetables. One of their favorite foods are fruit flies. Many gardeners will understand the frustration of trying to grow fruit in a “fruit fly zone” and will be grateful for dragonflies. The dragonfly can eat up to 100 fruit flies in a day and are a fantastic predator to have in your garden.

Are dragonflies bad for your garden?

Dragonflies are not bad for your garden but are a good indicator of a healthy garden full of diverse species. They are a fantastic predator to have in your garden because they eat black flies and mosquitoes.

Dragonflies and pollination

Dragonflies do not pollenate plants. They will land on flowers sometimes to catch and eat an insect that was already pollenating the flower. They will eat bees, black flies, fruit flies and mosquitoes.

Dragonflies eat mosquitoes

A large dragonfly can eat 100 mosquitoes in a day. Dragonflies hatch from an egg, laid near water. The baby dragonfly or nymph will live in water for 1 month up to 2 years for some species of dragonfly. When the nymph emerges, it will find a spot out of the water and the adult dragonfly will hatch and fly away. Living near water, the hungry dragonfly will feed on mosquitoes and other small insects.

Do dragonflies attack wasps?

A study published in the journal of Animal Behaviour in 2003, found that dragonflies are more likely to avoid wasps rather than attacking them. The scientists made artificial insects, some in the shape and color of wasps and other that were solid black or yellow. They found that the dragonflies were more likely to avoid the ones that looked like wasps.

Dragonflies will eat wasps but also will eat flies, ants, bees and even butterflies. Dragonflies will catch more than 95% of the prey they target, which is a far higher success rate than land predators such as lions.

Do dragonflies bite or sting?

If you try to hold a dragonfly in your hand, it may try to bite you but its teeth won’t be strong enough to break the skin. Dragonflies do not sting, they do not have a stinger like bees. You should not try to touch or hold a dragonfly however. They are a wild insect and prefer to be left alone.

What does it mean if a dragonfly lands on you?

If a dragonfly lands on you it has traditionally been seen as a symbol of good luck. They were once seen as a good sign for fishermen who would view it as good luck to have a dragonfly hover near them. It was a sign that there were plenty of fish in the water.

Insect eating fish and dragonflies would both be hunting surface hovering flies and mosquitoes. The dragonfly would need to be careful however as some fish would love to eat a dragonfly as a tasty meal.