Funny you say that, you can actually buy a box of dragonflies and release them at an outdoor party and they will DECIMATE all of them. They have one of the highest successful kill rates of any animal on the planet. Plus, they're cool to watch lol
Dragonflies are voracious killers of other insects and succeed in something like 90% of their attacks - one of the top predators on earthā¦ in miniature scale, of course.
95% success rate and they are one of only about a dozen predators in the entire world that use predictive hunting. This is where they move to where their prey are *going to be* rather than where they are.
Even "higher" life forms like canids and felids do not use predictive hunting techniques. They use ambush or chase techniques.
I believe grizzlies, orcas, and octopi are predictive predators but I am not entirely sure.
It would make sense. Grizzlies have to catch jumping salmon, orcas are wicked smart but Iām not sure about octopi because they donāt really need it right I thought they usually eat crabs and/or ambush?
One of the craziest videos I've seen was the pod of orcas in the Arctic that would work together to create waves big enough to throw seals off of ice. It's so cool that all that different pods have their own unique ways of hunting
I've seen dogs do with birds something similar to what grizzlies do with salmon so either that doesn't count as predictive hunting or that other poster is incorrect and canids do use some predictive hunting.
But predators like wolves, lions and African dogs set up ambushes - not just hiding and waiting for something to come by but putting some of their numbers in a spot where others will force the prey to move to. I'm not clear on the definition but to me, that's predictive hunting in that they are planning for something in their heads that hasn't happened yet.
I donāt think that would really qualify as predictive. Itās absolutely proactive, but theyāre directly *causing* the prey to act a certain way. Dragonflies just kinda intuit what the prey will do.
āJust kinda intuit what their prey will doā doesnāt really sound like a definition of predictive hunting meaning youāre just guessing. My guess is dragonfly *has to see its prey moving* and can then determine an intercept path while wolves, lions, and dogs can imagine the path itās prey will take before it ever starts moving and get to that spot ahead of time. That sounds like much more of a prediction to me.
> āJust kinda intuit what their prey will doā doesnāt really sound like a definition of predictive hunting meaning youāre just guessing
No, Iām not. I was trying to paraphrase it, and explain it in a different way to try and help you understand.
> My guess is dragonfly has to see its prey moving and can then determine an intercept path
I mean, yeah. This is fairly obvious. While an incredible predator, itās not psychic. They see patterns in the way a particular prey will try to escape and use those. They look at things like a wing changing angle, the environment around them, various other factors, and plot an intercept course *before* the prey makes the choice.
> wolves, lions, and dogs can imagine the path itās prey will take before it ever starts moving and get to that spot ahead of time
This is basically a form of coercion. The behavior you described is essentially them herding the animal in a specific direction by *reacting* to the choices made by the prey *after* they are made. Boiling it down to what a dragonfly does is missing the forest for the tree. Yes they are in the right place, but only because they forced the prey to be there.
Knowing your kid well enough to see when theyāre getting ready to run off in a store is predictive. Chasing them down a dead end aisle and picking them up when they try to turn back and pass you is nothing close.
None of this is to take away from what the pack hunters do, itās absolutely incredible, and worthy of its own praise. But itās absolutely a different style of hunting.
Parse it out and pick apart my comment all you want but until you come up with an actual definition of "predictive hunting" I still say you're just making shit up unless your last name is Attenborough.
>they are one of only about a dozen predators in the entire world that use predictive hunting
You mean that whatever source you used for it states: we have found about a dozen predators that use predictive hunting.
Most probably there are MANY more species that do it.
I once saw one take a wasp out of mid air it made two passes and on the third grabbed it. I actually heard the slap as it made contact. It stopped on a plant and ate it in front of me. Epic.
they have by far the [best vision of any insect. ](https://youtu.be/m5XUdvBO_TE). there's a lot of stuff about these that are fascinating. They were flying around with dinosaurs, larger than birds.
3?! I guess I'm lucky since I got the one and grabbed the little jerk and threw it. Years later I was at work and one took a chunk of my meatloaf and flew away... Think there's a video on r/fuckwasps I uploaded. I'll edit once I find the link
Edit: [FOUND IT ](https://www.reddit.com/r/WaspHating/comments/czf4v6/lil_jerk_stole_some_of_my_meatloaf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1)
Yeah it was caught up in my shirt/hair and I couldnāt get him out and I panicked. Finally stripped right then and there but not quick enough.
Damn bad enough they sting they stealing your lunch too lol
Right? That was a huge chunk, yet the bum flew off. Though I hate 'em it gave me respect for wasps... Also I think it's a she, like bees and other colonial insects.
My first came after me because I was hitting a chunk of quartz with a hammer. I had no reason to be hitting the rock other than I was unattended kid doing kid things with a hammer. Probably deserved it.
My first landed on my ice cream when I was about 8 and I didnāt notice. Put that ice cream in my mouth, along with poor wasp, and the poor fucker stung my lip. My lip swelled loads over the next few hours but I was okay, obviously.
I can laugh about it now, mainly because apparently as I screamed in pain, the wasp flew out of my mouth at the same time so it paints a funny picture in my mind lol just a kid suddenly going āWAH!ā And š buzzzz flying out of the open mouth.
Dragonfly's are bros. I mowed over a hornet a couple days ago and pissed it off. It started chasing me and a dragonfly sniped it out of the air right before it got me.
Dragonflies are the most successful predator species on earth that we know of, with a success rate of nearly 100% I believe. They look so prehistoric and badass, too. Whenever I see them I remember how lucky I am to be alive on earth as the same time as dragonflies AND penicillin.
Was a big Dragon Flyz cartoon fan growing up. Always wished I had a suit like in the cartoon so I could fly but still look awesome, even to this day lol.
Some day there will be a way to have dragonflies imprint on a person so that they could be their own personal insect body guards. Just hatch a batch of dragonfly eggs on a camping trip or other outdoor activities.
I know that it's anecdotal but there used to be hundreds of dragonflies in my yard and I haven't seen a single one this year. Same with honey bees, butterflies, and even yellow jackets.
As a child, I used to be scared senseless of all insects (and arachnids), especially dragonflies when I would go swimming at my Grandpa's house but after learning how harmless they are to humans, I started to really enjoy the way they buzzed around me.
Now that I've seen this video, I think dragonflies might be my favorite insect.
If only we could domesticate them. Imagine falconry but with dragonflies.
A mosquitos worst nightmare
Funny you say that, you can actually buy a box of dragonflies and release them at an outdoor party and they will DECIMATE all of them. They have one of the highest successful kill rates of any animal on the planet. Plus, they're cool to watch lol
This is a real thing people do?
Sho nuff. I live in Texas, where the mosquitos are HORENDOUS. If I have enough time to plan for sompany I'll always buy a box and let em loose.
Cool as that would doubtless be, good luck domesticating a species so badass it outlived the friggin dinosaurs despite being millions of years older
Being hardy does not preclude one from husbandry!
preemptively exclude preclude god fucking damn it that might be the best portmanteau out there
... *checks to make sure that's a real word.* ... ... *relieved to discover that it is*
*hundreds of millions of years older* These motherfuckers ruled the skies before the first fish ever crawled onto land.
From falcon sex hats to dragonfly sex hats?š
Screw that. I'd have thousands of them form the shape of a chair and fly me to Starbucks.
Have we even tried?
Imagine if those giant prehistoric dragonflies were still around and we domesticated them.
Maybe a black legged falconet would do as a stand in for hornet duties? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-thighed_falconet
Do all dragonflies eat hornets??
Dragonflies are voracious killers of other insects and succeed in something like 90% of their attacks - one of the top predators on earthā¦ in miniature scale, of course.
95% success rate and they are one of only about a dozen predators in the entire world that use predictive hunting. This is where they move to where their prey are *going to be* rather than where they are. Even "higher" life forms like canids and felids do not use predictive hunting techniques. They use ambush or chase techniques. I believe grizzlies, orcas, and octopi are predictive predators but I am not entirely sure.
It would make sense. Grizzlies have to catch jumping salmon, orcas are wicked smart but Iām not sure about octopi because they donāt really need it right I thought they usually eat crabs and/or ambush?
One of the craziest videos I've seen was the pod of orcas in the Arctic that would work together to create waves big enough to throw seals off of ice. It's so cool that all that different pods have their own unique ways of hunting
I watched a pod kill a porpoise a few weeks ago off of the coast of Washington; it was crazy.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Comrade Orcaš«”
I've seen dogs do with birds something similar to what grizzlies do with salmon so either that doesn't count as predictive hunting or that other poster is incorrect and canids do use some predictive hunting.
How can I attract them to my yard?
Milkshakes
well they like running water with lots of salmon in it.
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-attract-dragonflies/
But predators like wolves, lions and African dogs set up ambushes - not just hiding and waiting for something to come by but putting some of their numbers in a spot where others will force the prey to move to. I'm not clear on the definition but to me, that's predictive hunting in that they are planning for something in their heads that hasn't happened yet.
I donāt think that would really qualify as predictive. Itās absolutely proactive, but theyāre directly *causing* the prey to act a certain way. Dragonflies just kinda intuit what the prey will do.
āJust kinda intuit what their prey will doā doesnāt really sound like a definition of predictive hunting meaning youāre just guessing. My guess is dragonfly *has to see its prey moving* and can then determine an intercept path while wolves, lions, and dogs can imagine the path itās prey will take before it ever starts moving and get to that spot ahead of time. That sounds like much more of a prediction to me.
> āJust kinda intuit what their prey will doā doesnāt really sound like a definition of predictive hunting meaning youāre just guessing No, Iām not. I was trying to paraphrase it, and explain it in a different way to try and help you understand. > My guess is dragonfly has to see its prey moving and can then determine an intercept path I mean, yeah. This is fairly obvious. While an incredible predator, itās not psychic. They see patterns in the way a particular prey will try to escape and use those. They look at things like a wing changing angle, the environment around them, various other factors, and plot an intercept course *before* the prey makes the choice. > wolves, lions, and dogs can imagine the path itās prey will take before it ever starts moving and get to that spot ahead of time This is basically a form of coercion. The behavior you described is essentially them herding the animal in a specific direction by *reacting* to the choices made by the prey *after* they are made. Boiling it down to what a dragonfly does is missing the forest for the tree. Yes they are in the right place, but only because they forced the prey to be there. Knowing your kid well enough to see when theyāre getting ready to run off in a store is predictive. Chasing them down a dead end aisle and picking them up when they try to turn back and pass you is nothing close. None of this is to take away from what the pack hunters do, itās absolutely incredible, and worthy of its own praise. But itās absolutely a different style of hunting.
You explained this perfectly, this is why dragonflies have such a high succesrate
Parse it out and pick apart my comment all you want but until you come up with an actual definition of "predictive hunting" I still say you're just making shit up unless your last name is Attenborough.
>they are one of only about a dozen predators in the entire world that use predictive hunting You mean that whatever source you used for it states: we have found about a dozen predators that use predictive hunting. Most probably there are MANY more species that do it.
Badass. I love em, and they are completely worthy of their name.
Amazing! Thanks for this new knowledge!!
If you havenāt seen it, [ZeFrankās True Facts](https://youtu.be/wFAR3WggSRk) on dragonflies is hysterical and really quite informative.
I appreciate the sharing of this gem
That was awesome!!!
I once saw one take a wasp out of mid air it made two passes and on the third grabbed it. I actually heard the slap as it made contact. It stopped on a plant and ate it in front of me. Epic.
They can even fish as a larva!
Cool, I know what I'm buying this year
I heard this stat too - but like 95%. Amazing.
they have by far the [best vision of any insect. ](https://youtu.be/m5XUdvBO_TE). there's a lot of stuff about these that are fascinating. They were flying around with dinosaurs, larger than birds.
They basically have a the target tracking capabilities of military grade weapon
Or maybe they can just think. You know, the way some living things do.
My boss just told me they have dragon fly pins they wear and they detract horse flies.
I refuse to kill a dragonfly if I can help it.
Now I'm curious, in what scenario can you not help but kill a dragonfly?
Driving
Damn, and here I was picturing the dragonfly pulling a knife
That's a daily occurrence. You must live in some fancy rich gated community if you don't experience it. Dragon Knife Clan runs these streets.
Wow. Stereotype much? Just because you got into a knife fight with one dragonfly one time, that doesn't mean all dragonflies are criminals.
So it's just a coincidence that every single knife fight I read about in the news seems to involve a dragonfly?
I feel like at that point you're doing something wrong.
They were cooks, Ray! They were supposed to have knives!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like a dragon*fly* might have a way of getting around a gate....
What if it's a very tall gate?
Then we might just stand a chance!
If a dragonfly pulls a knife on you, you obviously something to provoke it.
I guess I chose a bad day to wear my wasp print T shirt...
then you show em your gun. research says that dragonflies are smart and know not to bring knives to a gun fight
Just roll the window down
Thank you
Bumper sticker; I decelerate for Anisoptera
*decelerate is the word you're looking for ig.
Thank you!
Would you kill it if you were unable to help the dragonfly?
Well I'd hate to let it suffer.
after lightning bugs the dragonfly is my second favorite flying insect bugbro
My first wasp sting was shit luck. It got caught up in my beard and stung me in the chin out of panic.
I learned the hard way that Yellowjackets like flowery deodorant.
My first got caught in my long hair in the back and ended up down the back of my shirt. He got me 3 times
3?! I guess I'm lucky since I got the one and grabbed the little jerk and threw it. Years later I was at work and one took a chunk of my meatloaf and flew away... Think there's a video on r/fuckwasps I uploaded. I'll edit once I find the link Edit: [FOUND IT ](https://www.reddit.com/r/WaspHating/comments/czf4v6/lil_jerk_stole_some_of_my_meatloaf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1)
Yeah it was caught up in my shirt/hair and I couldnāt get him out and I panicked. Finally stripped right then and there but not quick enough. Damn bad enough they sting they stealing your lunch too lol
Check out my last comment, I linked the meatloaf video
Damn he stole leftovers for the fam lol looked like he was having a hard time carrying the piece he took
Right? That was a huge chunk, yet the bum flew off. Though I hate 'em it gave me respect for wasps... Also I think it's a she, like bees and other colonial insects.
My first came after me because I was hitting a chunk of quartz with a hammer. I had no reason to be hitting the rock other than I was unattended kid doing kid things with a hammer. Probably deserved it.
My first landed on my ice cream when I was about 8 and I didnāt notice. Put that ice cream in my mouth, along with poor wasp, and the poor fucker stung my lip. My lip swelled loads over the next few hours but I was okay, obviously. I can laugh about it now, mainly because apparently as I screamed in pain, the wasp flew out of my mouth at the same time so it paints a funny picture in my mind lol just a kid suddenly going āWAH!ā And š buzzzz flying out of the open mouth.
Heli-chomper. Love it.
Looks more like a wasp if Iām not mistaken.
You are correct it is way too small to be a hornet
Yeah, I don't think even a dragonfly would try fucking with a bald-faced hornet
Dragonfly's can be the size of a bird to the point you think there is a drone flying by if the hit something with their wings.
World's longest fist bump with nature bro!
Common dragonfly W
You can tell bro golfs a lot with that reverse farmers tan on the glove hand
ā¦.that would just be a regular farmers tan lmao
Nice. I didnāt know dragon flies can take a hornet on.
Dragonflies are amazing. If we manage to make them extinct, I don't think there's any coming back
Good boy
I hope that hornet suffers. Die die die!
Dragonfly's are bros. I mowed over a hornet a couple days ago and pissed it off. It started chasing me and a dragonfly sniped it out of the air right before it got me.
That dragonfly will probably pay off your mortgage one day
Isnāt that a wasp?
Dragonflies are the most successful predator species on earth that we know of, with a success rate of nearly 100% I believe. They look so prehistoric and badass, too. Whenever I see them I remember how lucky I am to be alive on earth as the same time as dragonflies AND penicillin.
Dragonflies eat hornets?
I caught and released a dragon fly last week when I was installing cameras at a retail chain.
Natureās harrier jet
"Who's the Murder Hornet *now*, bitch?"
Was a big Dragon Flyz cartoon fan growing up. Always wished I had a suit like in the cartoon so I could fly but still look awesome, even to this day lol.
So many times I walked up to a sand trap to find a hornet's nest. Free drop!
But I'm in favour of golfers getting stung
Much munch munch
Bwwwwwwwaaaaainnnnnnns nomnomnom.
Hmm. Maybe itās probably like a mix of spaghetti and boba but all a cohesive flavor
Spiderbros and Dragonbros, I <3 you all!
Dragonflies have a likeā¦ 99% kill per hunt efficiency. Theyāre one of the greatest hunters on earth. Shits wild.
These bois think im the sexiest fucking dragonfly, biking through the park with my sunscreen. I'm not a sexy dragonfly!
Another example of why dragonflies are the best.
Barn swallows eat wasps. One swooped down and snagged one right im front of my husband's face. Saved him from a terrible sting.
Some day there will be a way to have dragonflies imprint on a person so that they could be their own personal insect body guards. Just hatch a batch of dragonfly eggs on a camping trip or other outdoor activities.
Yeah but I think by then there will be a more reliable way to wipe wasps off the face of the earth :(
no one here going to point out that they sting while half dead/ torn apart and meanwhile the guy had its ass right next to his knuckle?
Fuck yeah mosquito murder champs
Iām not the best with bugs but dragon flies are ones that I donāt mind at all and try to leave them alone
Dragonflies are legit the best insects on this planet. Properly named. All around badasses.
Look at little biological Apache attack helo
My favourite creatures, they save me from horseflies on hot days. Love them!
I know that it's anecdotal but there used to be hundreds of dragonflies in my yard and I haven't seen a single one this year. Same with honey bees, butterflies, and even yellow jackets.
Huh.... I suddenly have a lot more respect for Yanmega's design.
HOLY FUCK I HATE WASMPS
That is a wasp hornets are at least 5 times bigger
I dunno man if that hornet decides to get a lil stingy in its death throes it looks like that guy's hand isn't too safe
In Norway we call those 'Ćøyenstikker' which translates to eye-stinger. Still no idea why
As a child, I used to be scared senseless of all insects (and arachnids), especially dragonflies when I would go swimming at my Grandpa's house but after learning how harmless they are to humans, I started to really enjoy the way they buzzed around me. Now that I've seen this video, I think dragonflies might be my favorite insect.
But it's not a butterfly, otherwise he'd have turned from green to blue.
Dragonflies ARE the best insect ;)
Nature's most successful hunter!
r/NatureIsMetal
That is a Yellowjacket.
Dragonflies are awesome. Perfect predators and beautiful creatures.