Where do
baby dragonflies live and what do they
eat?
Wow! We had lots of good answers to the last question since it was up for so long. Here's a small sampling of our visitors' responses:
Trish Shaw (from somewhere) said: They live in the sand, are often referred to as ant lions and eat ants.
This is a really good guess, Trish... there actually are baby insects that fit this very description. They make little pits in the sand and insects slide down the loose sand bank into their awaiting jaws! COOL! They turn into adult ant lions, though - not dragonflies - and are in the order Neuroptera and are related to green lacewings.
Natilie Council, Age: 13, School: Ladue Jr. High, From: Ladue, MO, said: They live everywhere and eat everything!!!!
Haha! I'll bet it would seem that way if you were a little fish, Natilie!
Name: Pearce Bryant, Age: 12, From: Fort Bragg, CA, said: Baby dragonflies are known as hellgrammites and they feed on fish.
This is like Trish's answer, because there is actually such an insect. A hellgrammite is a baby dobsonfly (Order:Megaloptera) and it lives in the water and probably eats a variety of things. We have managed to keep them alive with no living food in their tank for a long time. I have never observed them eating anything, but surely they did, because some of them became adults. Although the field guides say they are predators of blackfly larvae (which live on the sides of rocks in currents), I think they eat whatever they can find - like a scavenger/predator combination.
We had a number of anonymous answers (it is helpful to us if you leave your name - we won't post it unless you say it's okay). Some folks said they live in bushes and eat leaves or aphids (baby ladybugs eat aphids). One visitor said they live in Africa - which is true, but wasn't really what we meant!
And a number of people got the correct answer - or close to it:
Ashley Porton, Age: 12, School: Milton Hershey, From: Hershey, PA
Evan, Age: 8, School: Gust Elementary, From: Denver, CO
Kim Turner, School: Purdue University, From: West Lafayette, IN (We like to see the big kids getting involved!)
And finally, here's the answer according to BUGMAN and P.R. Mantis:
Baby dragonflies (Order:Odonata) live in the water of ponds, lakes and rivers. They usually stick around the bottom where they sneak up on unsuspecting fish, tadpoles, or other baby insects and grab them with their extendible lower jaw. Baby dragonflies have the coolest mouths of any insects. Their bottom jaw can stretch out almost half the length of their body. It is bent in the middle, like a hinge, and they snap it out almost like a praying mantis snags its prey. The adults catch flying insects - in flight! They are usually found flying around ponds, lakes and rivers looking for mates, looking for places to lay eggs, and eating lots of mosquitoes!
If you didn't see your answer here, don't fear! We have been working out some kinks in the BUG Quiz but it's ready to roll now, so keep your answers coming! You can also e-mail BUGMAN if you'd like to suggest some BUG-Quiz questions of your own!