Comment on we must protect them from exotics

• PancakesCantKillMe@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Thanks for the TLDR. Dragonflies are the worlds most efficient hunters.

  You mentioned that you “use” them. Do you introduce them or do they exist naturally where you are? If so, are there ways to increase their numbers? We have some dragonflies, but we have far more mosquitoes! Just curious.

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  • shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    I’ve planted 4 “ponds” in the yard, 10G to 150G, loaded with native plants, even the carnivorous sort! LOL, one is a buried 75G trash can.

    The open water alone will attract them, but be aware, it takes 2 years for the underwater nymphs to reach adulthood and start combat air patrol. And then only for 30 days.

    Great YT short on a guy using them to protect his cattle!

    Would you like to know more? Probably my best lemmy post, all about dragonfly love. Get some!

    More on the ponds: I rinsed and dropped a layer of cheap pea gravel in there for a substrate. I usually grab my own stuff like that, but there isn’t much in the way of rock in NW Florida, shit’s cheap enough. Didn’t add dirt, the plants I dug up along the rivers, creeks and swamps added enough. Besides, leaves, dead bugs, etc., all turn into dirt soon enough.

    Seems pretty healthy! Not sure about the 10G, too small for an ecosystem, but the others are LOADED with tadpoles. My yard is the only reason we have frogs again. LOL, they annoy my wife at night. WAAAAK! WAAAAHAAAAK!

    Be super happy to talk to anyone wanting to learn more or teach me!

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    • PancakesCantKillMe@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Thank you for the comprehensive reply! I am curious: do the ponds not produce mosquitoes as well?

      I live on a hillside and creating water spots might get tricky on our rocky soil. It could be done I suppose, but it’ll have to be the next place to try.

      The forest must help. We have some thick western red cedar groves and do have a lot of dragonflies at times, but no water other than birdbaths. I love seeing them scanning the hillside and the few flat spots we have. I’m always rooting for them. Funny about the frogs. I like em too, but we don’t see many. Lizards and snakes mostly.

      Thanks for the Ted talk! 😂

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      • shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Yes, the mosquitoes lay eggs in the little ponds. I sincerely wish them well!

        But here’s the trick, the fish, dragonfly nymphs and tadpoles EAT them! Hell, the tadpoles and friends even eat the algae that naturally grows. Water’s clear! No pump!

        The thing is avoiding tiny bits of water where the larvae are left alone, old tires and the like. Give nature a chance in a fair-sized pond, nature does the rest.

        Best thing I learned this year was when I buried the 150G pond; nature takes over fast. I expected it to be a muddy mess for a year and more. Nope! Water is crystal clear and loaded with tadpoles! Lord knows what else is in there, but the plants I snatched off the rivers and creeks are thriving already! Took a knife and chopped and planted a load of bamboo off the 10G pond today. Bamboo’s fun to build with.

        I mentioned fish. Well, I threw some feeder goldfish in my home ponds and some (best I could figure) native mosquito-eating fish in my swamp ponds. No care, no food, a few seem to be hanging in there. Hard to tell in the deeper ponds and natural ponds, they dive deep to avoid the heat and predators. Whatever. Fish are good. And they’re .10 pence.

        That’s a lot of exclamation points. Fuck me. I’m excited to talk about it. I’m regenerating my local ecosystem! I’ve failed a time or three. God knows what happened to the crawdads I seeded. Whatever.

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  • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Other measure for mosquitoes when you have stagnant water you cant put fish in or remove, such as the water that pools in banana plants and bird baths’ mosquito bits. They’re like small rocks carrying a spore that kills mosquito larva, and it seems harmless, at least it is to frogs.

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