Never pass up a chance to sit down or relieve yourself. -old Apache saying

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

dragonflies

We're being invaded by dragonflies again, and it's great to see.


Did you know that dragonflies love to eat mosquitoes at all stages of life? They are excellent mosquito predators and can keep mosquito populations low if you attract dragonflies to your area. Not only do dragonflies eat mosquitoes, but they eat other pests as well.
How can one attract dragonflies if they don’t seem to live in your area? Adding the following plants to your landscape will attract dragonflies and encourage the population to flourish!
Add hiding spots for baby dragonflies using trees and shrubs around the perimeter of your property. In general, flowering plants should be integrated throughout your landscape. Use the following plants and dragonflies will call your area home in no time!
Dragonflies are aquatic insect predators by nature so a small body of water such as a pond is ideal to have in your landscape. When dragonflies mate, they leg eggs in water. Some of the plants below do very well in wet environments but the first 5 plants in this list are best suited for those without a pond. The last 5 plants are better suited for a wet, shoreline environment.

Five Plants for a Dry Landscape

  1. Meadow Sage (Salvia marcus)
2. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
3. Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
4. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
5. White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)


Five Plants for a Wet Environment

7. Wild Celery (Vallisneria americana)
8. Cattail (Typha latifolia)
9. Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile)
10. Water Lily

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