Martin Colony History: Started trying to attract purple martins in 2012! It's finally happened in 2017! 5 years!!! ASY male and SY female came May 1st, fledged 5 babies!
This was a curiosity today since I had thousands in my yard and fields to day!
Adult dragonflies mostly eat other flying insects, particularly midges and mosquitoes. They also will take butterflies, moths and smaller dragonflies. The larvae, which live in water, eat almost any living thing smaller than themselves. Larger dragonfly larvae sometimes eat small fish or fry.
So martins do eat mosquitoes! When they eat a dragonfly with mosquitoes in their stomach!
Just a little trivia!
http://www.dragonfly-site.com
Adult dragonflies mostly eat other flying insects, particularly midges and mosquitoes. They also will take butterflies, moths and smaller dragonflies. The larvae, which live in water, eat almost any living thing smaller than themselves. Larger dragonfly larvae sometimes eat small fish or fry.
Sharon, some people with lakes hate to see them, they eat too many small fish.
I did not read your complete post, sorry for the mistake
Martin Colony History: Started trying to attract purple martins in 2012! It's finally happened in 2017! 5 years!!! ASY male and SY female came May 1st, fledged 5 babies!
Sharon, I found something a few minutes after I read your post. I went to watch the bees at the beehive, and while I was watching, a large dragonfly came and caught a bee, then it came back, and caught a 2nd, and a third...Never saw that before.
Martin Colony History: Started trying to attract purple martins in 2012! It's finally happened in 2017! 5 years!!! ASY male and SY female came May 1st, fledged 5 babies!
Bees? wow, must have been fun to watch that. when you watch dragonflies and their flying skills you have to wonder at the greater skill and agility of those Martins.
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
Martin Colony History: 2015 put up a S-k house, visitors but no takers 2016 homemade Martin condo (40 nesting boxes) several visitors no takers 2017 changed crescent openings to Troyer Conley 2 openings and installed 4 super gourds with Conley2 adapters and 12 vertical Troyers. Several nests and eggs. Hopefully will exceed one hundred eggs this year. 6-21-17 nest inspection 68 chicks and 26 eggs 6-30-17 inspection 90 chicks and a new nest with 4 eggs. 8-30-17 successfully fledged over 85 martins.
Emil Pampell-Tx wrote:Sharon, I found something a few minutes after I read your post. I went to watch the bees at the beehive, and while I was watching, a large dragonfly came and caught a bee, then it came back, and caught a 2nd, and a third...Never saw that before.
Thanks for posting Emil, I have bees and martins too. Do you think the martins help control hive beetles?
The martins eat the dragon flies and dragon flies eat more mosquitos then martins do. So yo can increase the mosquito population by having a martin colony. Despite what some advertise.
flyin-lowe wrote:The martins eat the dragon flies and dragon flies eat more mosquitos then martins do. So yo can increase the mosquito population by having a martin colony. Despite what some advertise.
I firmly believe Martins eat more mosquitoes than given credit for by many.
The number of reliable reports over the years from experienced landlords (including some on this forum) that report seeing distinct drops in mosquito numbers on and around their property after hosting Martins, combined with the many reliable reports of seeing Martins feeding low to the ground during periods of high concentrations of mosquitoes, to me is proof of this.
Here's a recent thread on this subject as well: http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... =2&t=33556
Though certainly not their primary diet, I'm a firm believer that Martins eat many more mosquitoes than many believe, and that "advertisement" in question is in fact much more accurate than it's been given credit for over the years.
When they eat a dragonfly with mosquitoes in their stomach! 
