CLOSED: Dragonfly vs. Mosquito larvae

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BrightStar Chesapeake, VA Sep 04, 2007

What is the difference between dragonfly and mosquito larvae? I have something that hangs like tiny upright sticks in the water. They look like they are underwater though, not stuck to the surface breathing.

I don't want to kill dragonfly larvae, but if they are mosquitoes, they are toast!

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fly_girl The Woodlands, TX(Zone 8b) Sep 04, 2007

They don't sound like mosquitoes, here's some pics of damselfly and dragonfly larva. The damsel looks kind of stick-like:

http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/naturallyscottish/dragonfly/breedandfeed.asp

Those sticks could be the mosquitoes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Sep 04, 2007

Where are they? I have mosquito larvae in buckets etc if not careful. When I disturb the bucket, they get all wiggly and go down away from the surface. They can be in large buckets or in small shallow dishes. They are about 3/8 inch long I'd say. I would think dragonfly larvae would be bigger.

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BrightStar Chesapeake, VA Sep 05, 2007

Sallyg, they are in a bucket that had some water in it. I had both dragonflies and a HUGH population of little black mosquitoes, so if these are mosquito predators I don't want to hurt them. There is something else in there that is bigger and more wiggly.

Sounds like a horror movie...IT CAME FROM THE BUCKET...!!!

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ceejaytown The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a) Sep 05, 2007

I would think that they are NOT dragonfly larvae, since they go through a series of molts, taking up to two years to achieve adulthood, depending on the species. Dragonflies lay their eggs in ponds, on the fly, dipping their rears into the water as they fly. Hard to do with a bucket. Those larvae (called naiads) also need something to eat, which a pond has, but would be very scarce in a bucket.
I'm 99 44/100% sure that you have mosquito larvae.

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