this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
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Entomology

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[–] yakko@feddit.uk 12 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Dragonflies might be my favourite bug. They're hungry for mosquitoes, hover capable, shiny, and big. The hummingbird of insects, 10/10.

[–] Tempus_Fugit@midwest.social 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Not only that, but they're deadly killers in their nymph stage too. Elite aquatic hunters in the water and attack helicopters in the sky. Truly an apex predator in their niche.

[–] Fourth@mander.xyz 3 points 5 months ago

They are truly, truly hella good.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I imagine it's the vivarium kinda tank and not the big boom kinda tank

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You guys made it to all, so I didn't know if it was a growing tank, an outside tank like a birdhouse, a septic tank, a well water tank, an aquarium, and now a military tank that I hadn't though of.

[–] Fourth@mander.xyz 7 points 5 months ago

It was a military tank. A military funded, military grade fish tank. It was one of the two images below.

[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Were you feeding them or were they just eating what was available to them?

[–] Fourth@mander.xyz 2 points 5 months ago

They were living in my tadpole hatching tank but I scooped a couple out when all the frogs were gone. I put a couple small fish in with them and I assume that they were also eating mosquito larvae at some point.

[–] Tempus_Fugit@midwest.social 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I found one of these wandering gliders a few days ago. They're very pretty dragonflies.

[–] Fourth@mander.xyz 1 points 5 months ago
[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

How did you go about breeding them?

[–] Fourth@mander.xyz 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I actually just left the tank outside with the right conditions for them. I'm monitor them periodically and make sure it was well enough stocked with tadpoles and they basically just handle it for themselves. Essentially I was a facilitator not a mastermind.

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'll have to give this a go next year. I've got some good riparian habitat near me that's pretty degraded and the swamp milkweed seeds I've been collecting really attract them to the originating habitat. It'd be nice to grow that ecosystem.

[–] Fourth@mander.xyz 2 points 5 months ago

Big time hell yeah. That sounds great.