dragonflies!
 

eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see
how something THAT small could do that!)

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:44:49 -0400, wrote:

eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see
how something THAT small could do that!)

Send me some naked pics of yourself and I'll send a cure.



This space for rent

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
see
how something THAT small could do that!)

They might eat some small goldfish now & again, but hey also eat lots of
mosquito larvae. Adult dragon flies eat lots of mosquitos! Do everything
you can to attract them to your pond.

Jacqui

*muffin* wrote:
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

Don't get rid of them -- enjoy them! They're beautiful things (even to
an entomophobe like me).

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see
how something THAT small could do that!)

The nymphs will eat fry -- I hadn't heard that they could eat anything
much bigger than themselves, though. And they also eat mosquito larvae
(although the fish probably take care of that problem, too).

-- Kizhe

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
see
how something THAT small could do that!)
=============================
I have them as well. I've never been stung by one.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"*muffin*" wrote:

eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see
how something THAT small could do that!)


Don't get rid of them and don't be scared, they are way cool. They eat other
bugs like mosquitoes. Nymphs do eat very, very young goldfish - something
less than a quarter of an inch I'd say.

San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.

*muffin* wrote:
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot see
how something THAT small could do that!)


Like everyone said, they are good to have. They do not sting. The very
big ones can bite but, you have to grab them before they will (childhood
lesson).
My youngest and I watched a pair mate yesterday (something they do
continually). They decoupled and the female proceed to lay eggs while
the male buzzed around and tried to chase us off. After the female left
the male hung around a few more hours and would buzz me if I got to
close to the eggs.
In the afternoons they swarm high over the house like swallows eating
bugs. I read somewhere the other day that they can eat 1,000 skeeters a
day (How do they figure that kind of thing out? Sounds made up to me.).
Happy ponding.
Mark B.

"Reel Mckoi" wrote:
"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
see
how something THAT small could do that!)
=============================
I have them as well. I've never been stung by one.

Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting.

eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I
cannot see
how something THAT small could do that!)


Like everyone said, they are good to have. They do not sting. The very
big ones can bite but, you have to grab them before they will (childhood
lesson).
My youngest and I watched a pair mate yesterday (something they do
continually). They decoupled and the female proceed to lay eggs while
the male buzzed around and tried to chase us off. After the female left
the male hung around a few more hours and would buzz me if I got to
close to the eggs.
In the afternoons they swarm high over the house like swallows eating
bugs. I read somewhere the other day that they can eat 1,000 skeeters a
day (How do they figure that kind of thing out? Sounds made up to me.).
Happy ponding.
Mark B.

And it's fun to watch when they first crawl out of their old skins and
spread their wings to dry. I don't know if I've ever lost any baby fish
to them (usually blame the big fish and turtles for that) but I wouldn't
hold it against them if they did eat some fry. I've never had one bite
me although I've had a few land on him when I was sitting in the pond.
Gabrielle

Don't get rid of them and don't be scared, they are way cool. They eat
other
bugs like mosquitoes. Nymphs do eat very, very young goldfish - something
less than a quarter of an inch I'd say.

lol

ok, guess I should clarify it!
I am NOT scared of the critters, I think they are beautiful!
I was 'scared' for what they should DO to my fish!

Muffin had to do an oral report on dragonflies in 9th grade science class,
& can remember my face turning 'red' when describing their mating habits!

If you don't have something in your pond eating
infant fish you are going to be overrun by them.
Animals reproduce over the numbers needed
because they are all food for each other.

Besides adult fish eat dragonfly nymphs.

They bite with their mouths, no stingers on
their tails. Just don't grab one and you'll be
fine.

IF you provide a WATER source Mother Nature takes that
as an open invitation and all sorts of things show
up. From ameobas to algae to worms to insects (over
5,000 live all or part of their lives in water) to frogs, turtles,
newts, snakes, birds, mammals, even plants, etc. The trick is to
know what you can control (very little) and live with what
you can't.


kathy :-)
www.blogfromthebog.com
this week ~ Mosquitoes!
Run For Your Life!

Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

"Andy Hill" wrote in message
...
"Reel Mckoi" wrote:
"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
see
how something THAT small could do that!)
=============================
I have them as well. I've never been stung by one.

Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting.
=====================
Good because we have loads of them out in the propagation pools. :-)
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Reel Mckoi" wrote:
"Andy Hill" wrote in message
.. .
"Reel Mckoi" wrote:
"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
see
how something THAT small could do that!)
=============================
I have them as well. I've never been stung by one.

Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting.
=====================
Good because we have loads of them out in the propagation pools. :-)

Lucky you -- I like to think of them as airborne koi :-)

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
eeek!
there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.

ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???

(I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
see
how something THAT small could do that!)



Be glad you have so many dragonflies, they are an insect you should be happy
to have. Adult dragonflies eat all kinds pest insects such as mosquitoes and
gnats. Dragonfly nymphs eat mostly aquatic insect, mosquito larva in
particular, they might occasionally catch a few goldfish fry (new born
goldfish) but other then that, they are nothing to worry about.

-S

Awhile back we had one huge bdragon fly that keep on buzzing us while
we were in the hot tub. It kept up and kept up and would get right in
your face time after time. It then started to buzz the TV set we had
outside. All it was doing was getting small bugs. IIRC are not the
blue or green colored ones actually called damsel flies?


On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:43:06 GMT, Andy Hill wrote:

==="Reel Mckoi" wrote:
==="Andy Hill" wrote in message
===news:p1i8c1th7mpctfdte9liaejmd6il45bkai@4ax .com...
=== "Reel Mckoi" wrote:
=== "*muffin*" wrote in message
=== ...
=== eeek!
=== there was a plethora of dragonflies hanging aroudn my pond yesterday &
=== today.. the 1st time in 'ever' seeing them here.
===
=== ok, how do I get rid of them & should I be reallly scared???
===
=== (I have read about the larva/nymphs eating goldfish,, although I cannot
=== see
=== how something THAT small could do that!)
=== =============================
=== I have them as well. I've never been stung by one.
===
=== Not surprising, since dragonflies don't sting.
========================
===Good because we have loads of them out in the propagation pools. :-)
===
===Lucky you -- I like to think of them as airborne koi :-)


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o