Watching the dragonflies frolic

in the yard is something you will never tire of!

Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect order Odonata, and most members of this group rely on water throughout their life cycle. Australia has over 300 dragonfly species, and North America has around 400 species.

The juveniles, or nymphs, live underwater for months and sometimes years before emerging as adults. The adult dragonflies are voracious carnivores, and tend to hunt for insects over water and lay their eggs in water or on adjacent vegetation.

Under the right conditions, even a small pond will attract some of these aerial acrobats to your yard. If you enjoy bird-watching, you'll certainly love watching dragonflies. Their bodies tend to be larger, with broader wings, than those of damselflies, whose wings taper at the base. Damselflies are also smaller, and hold their wings at together along the axis of their bodies.

Like birds, dragonflies are reasonably easy to identify by their field marks. Close-focus binoculars will help you get a better look. And like birds, male dragonflies are usually territorial and defend their turf aggressively. Dragonflies resemble red-winged blackbirds or flycatchers in the way they claim an elevated perch on a stem of marsh grass, then sally out to chase away other males or make a mid-air capture of a mosquito.

Dragonflies are strong flyers, though most individuals stay around their own pond or stream. But some will wander, so if you build it, they will come.

Many garden stores now sell stiff, pre-shaped plastic ponds, as well as flexible PVC or butyl rubber liners that will conform to the shape of a pond you design yourself. If you use a flexible liner, a layer of newspapers or old carpet under the plastic prevents punctures.

You don't necessarily need a large pond to attract dragonflies. Even a half drum or plastic wading pool will do. Whatever the size, place your pond where it will be protected from wind and will get midday sun. More information about building a pond can be found on our pond page.

The ideal dragonfly pond should vary in depth, shallow at the edges and at least two feet deep in the center. Deep water offers nymphs a refuge from raccoons and other predators. Varied depths are also important to accommodate a variety of water plants. It's not that the nymphs or adults eat the plants. The underwater plants provide important habitat for the nymphs, which need places to rest, hunt for food and hide from predatory fish.

Emergent vegetation--sedges, rushes and other plants that stick up above the water's surface--provides perching places for adults. Such vegetation is also critical for dragonflies because the nymphs crawl up it when they emerge, making the transformation from water dweller to their free-flying adult form. And though dragonflies don't rely on specific host plants to nourish their young the way butterflies do, some species do use water plants as nurseries. They insert their eggs into the soft stems.

What you plant around the pond is almost as important as what you plant in it. Don't mow the border, let the grasses and rushes grow. Make sure you have some shrubs within a few feet of the water, they will provide perching sites. Reeds, and rushes and grasses with seed heads are good choices for your pond's edge. Read about setting up a swamp garden here!

Don't disturb wild habitat to stock your pond with plants. Many garden shops and catalog suppliers now sell all kinds of plants for water gardens. Look for species native to your area. Put a few flat rocks near the pond's edge. Dragonflies like to warm up by basking in the sun. Some species are attracted to light-colored rocks.