More wildlife - Home remedies for insects Some gardeners use bamboo sticks in their garden to attract dragonflies. Sticks provide convenient perches for these hunters. Adult dragonflies often can be spotted on the tips of fence posts, sticks and exposed branches, keeping an eye out for prey. They are visual hunters with very large eyes that can see in all directions. Blue dragonfly A dragonfly perched on a stem can spot a gnat three feet away, fly out and catch it, then return to its perch and eat in just over a second.
Some hunters patrol a regular beat flying back and forth over the same patch of ground or water.
Males are very territorial, guarding their hunting area from a private perch that serves as a lookout tower. Invaders are driven off with an attack of clattering wings. Adult females lay eggs in ponds and the young dragonfly larvae eat anything they can catch in the water, including hundreds of mosquito larvae a day.