Dragon Flies Numerous this year in my area.

Ben Framed · July 21, 2019, 02:01:54 AM

I just made several splits. I have also noticed that the Dragon Fly population is very numerous in my area. I have paid special attention to meadows and pastures as well as my on apiary yards. The insect, Dragon Fly, seems to be everywhere. Reminds me of the kid movie, ( A Bug's Life ), I can only hope that the virgins make it back home safe and sound.
Mr Van, is the insect that you named a robber fly the same insect? In your picture on the other Post, I could not tell as I did not see the wings. When I was young, the local name for the Dragon Fly was ''snake doctor''.
Thanks,
Phillip

BeeMaster2 · July 21, 2019, 08:29:33 AM

Ben,
A Dragonfly is very different from a robber fly. You would hardly notice a robber fly in the air as compared to a dragonfly is very visible from a long way off.
One of the queen breeders in Georgia had to move his mating yards because of a large population of dragonflies. I had the same problem with splits in Jacksonxille also. They would crisscross my flyway.
Jim Altmiller

Ben Framed · July 21, 2019, 08:39:01 AM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 21, 2019, 08:29:33 AM
Ben,
A Dragonfly is very different from a robber fly. You would hardly notice a robber fly in the air as compared to a dragonfly is very visible from a long way off.
One of the queen breeders in Georgia had to move his mating yards because of a large population of dragonflies. I had the same problem with splits in Jacksonxille also. They would crisscross my flyway.
Jim Altmiller

Thanks Jim, I had not heard of the robber fly until Mr Van mentioned them in another topic. Well it doesn?t look too good for my splits as the dragon flys are thick as fleas on a untreated dogs back!😊😁. Another good reason to do splits early. Mr Bush educated me about taking advantage of swarm cells earlier this season, just another good reason why to split early? The dragon fly population seems to have boomed here just recently, as opposed to a month ago.
Phillip

BeeMaster2 · July 21, 2019, 10:01:13 AM

Phillip,
same here. I need to do my splits late enough to hav the commercial hives here but before the dragonflies hatch. We love having dragonflies here. They eat a lot of mosquitoes.
Jim Altmiller

Ben Framed · July 21, 2019, 10:09:44 AM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 21, 2019, 10:01:13 AM
Phillip,
We love having dragonflies here. They eat a lot of mosquitoes.
Jim Altmiller

We like them also Jim. Watching them flying gracefully over a meadow, field, or yard. Plus their benefits.
Phillip

beesnweeds · July 21, 2019, 10:27:42 AM

I've been raising queens for over 10 years in my swampy area. Some years the air over my hives is full of dragonflies and others not to many. I never noticed a significant difference in queens coming back in years with or without a lot of dragonflies. In my region I can usually rear queens before the adult stage, this year I couldn't and queens are making it back from mating flights. But I also have a lot of drones flying now so maybe the dragonflies are feeding on them. Dragonflies mostly feed on mosquitoes and flies. They've been around a lot longer than humans and honey bees and probably will be after we are both gone. "Pantala flavescens" can fly 8,000 to 10,000 miles, pretty amazing. One of the most surprising behaviors I saw in honey bees vs dragonflies, was I had a swarm 20 feet on top of a tree and when any dragonflies went close to it about a dozen or so bees would chase it away, wish I video. The biggest factor for me and successful queen rearing is weather. I think you'll find that most of your queens will mate just fine as long as the weather cooperates.

Ben Framed · July 21, 2019, 10:48:24 AM

Quote from: beesnweeds on July 21, 2019, 10:27:42 AM
I've been raising queens for over 10 years in my swampy area. Some years the air over my hives is full of dragonflies and others not to many. I never noticed a significant difference in queens coming back in years with or without a lot of dragonflies. In my region I can usually rear queens before the adult stage, this year I couldn't and queens are making it back from mating flights. But I also have a lot of drones flying now so maybe the dragonflies are feeding on them. Dragonflies mostly feed on mosquitoes and flies. They've been around a lot longer than humans and honey bees and probably will be after we are both gone. "Pantala flavescens" can fly 8,000 to 10,000 miles, pretty amazing. One of the most surprising behaviors I saw in honey bees vs dragonflies, was I had a swarm 20 feet on top of a tree and when any dragonflies went close to it about a dozen or so bees would chase it away, wish I video. The biggest factor for me and successful queen rearing is weather. I think you'll find that most of your queens will mate just fine as long as the weather cooperates.

beesnweeds. I thank you for your experienced information. This makes me feel a ''little'' better. I am just guessing here for the following, Is it possible that the queen may fly at higher altitudes when going on a mating fight passably avoid being ate? I have noticed the dragon fly seems to fly at a low lever. I have never noticed them at a higher level, but to be fair, I have never looked up for them, only horizontally.
Phillp

Ben Framed · July 21, 2019, 11:59:36 AM

?beesnweeds. I thank you for your experienced information. This makes me feel a ''little'' better. I am just guessing here for the following, Is it possible that the queen may fly at higher altitudes when going on a mating fight passably avoid being ate? I have noticed the dragon fly seems to fly at a low lever. I have never noticed them at a higher level, but to be fair, I have never looked up for them, only horizontally.
Philip?

Jim. beesnweeds, or does anyone else here know about virgin queen flights associated with altitudes which they may fly? Or perhaps they just take of flying at any ole altitude in any ole direction hoping they may find drones and meet accordingly ? Or is this thinking or guessing off track?
Thanks for all input. Each and every opinion is welcome. Let?s learn..
. Or at least educate me. 😊thanks,
Phillip

Nock · July 21, 2019, 06:18:33 PM

That?s a good question about the altitude. I notice there is a couple dragonflies that like to hang out right in the middle of my hives main flyway. I?ve seen a lot of them robberflies. Just didn?t know what they were. I just assumed maybe a juvenile dragonfly.

The15thMember · July 21, 2019, 08:10:01 PM

Quote from: Nock on July 21, 2019, 06:18:33 PM
That?s a good question about the altitude. I notice there is a couple dragonflies that like to hang out right in the middle of my hives main flyway. I?ve seen a lot of them robberflies. Just didn?t know what they were. I just assumed maybe a juvenile dragonfly.

Actually, dragonfly nymphs look like this. Most, if not all, of them are aquatic.
[attachment=0][/attachment]

BeeMaster2 · July 21, 2019, 08:27:45 PM

I do not know what altitude queens fly at to and from drone congregating areas, DCAs, but,from UF student studies and the bee college classes they taught, we do know that when they enter a DCA, they come At low level and fly around the DCA, to attract the drones and then fly vertical while the strongest males mate with her.
Keep in mind that it is not just the mating flight that is dangerous, the queen also has to make orientation flights to learn her area and find the DCAs.
Jim Altmiller

Ben Framed · July 21, 2019, 09:54:01 PM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 21, 2019, 08:27:45 PM
I do not know what altitude queens fly at to and from drone congregating areas, DCAs, but,from UF student studies and the bee college classes they taught, we do know that when they enter a DCA, they come At low level and fly around the DCA, to attract the drones and then fly vertical while the strongest males mate with her.
Keep in mind that it is not just the mating flight that is dangerous, the queen also has to make orientation flights to learn her area and find the DCAs.
Jim Altmiller

Thank each of you, once again a wealth of information here.
Good clear picture Member. Thanks for posting.
Phillip

The15thMember · July 21, 2019, 11:59:42 PM

Quote from: Ben Framed on July 21, 2019, 09:54:01 PM

Thank each of you, once again a wealth of information here.
Good clear picture Member. Thanks for posting.
Phillip

I can?t take any credit for it, I just pulled it off of google. There are also damselflies, which are similar to dragonflies, but they are smaller, have slimmer abdomens, and they rest with their wings folded up like a butterfly, where the dragonflies rest with their wings out. Damselfly nymphs look like the dragonflies except they have feathery tails which contain their gills during their aquatic stages. Both dragonfly and damselfly nymphs and their shed exoskeletons are commonly seen clinging to rocks in the mountain streams in my area. They are an important source of food for freshwater fish and there are fly-fishing lures that imitate them.

incognito · July 22, 2019, 12:09:15 AM

Quote from: Ben Framed on July 21, 2019, 11:59:36 AM
Jim. beesnweeds, or does anyone else here know about virgin queen flights associated with altitudes which they may fly?

Search youtube. [found it, see link below, I did not fact check my earlier post]
I watched a very long video about this. If I remember correctly, a European researcher spent a lot of time on the topic, hanging queens in cages from balloons, etc. then catching drones in long nets when they followed the queens closer to the ground.
DCAs are at least a mile from the queen's hive while drones stay closer to home. The separation stops inbreeding. The DCAs are at 50 to 200 feet.
Queens fly low. Lower than nearby DCAs to prevent inbreeding.

And another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy3qSx5wc7w

herbhome · July 22, 2019, 12:41:26 AM

Last year I saw one of these in the act of grabbing a bee and flying off. I tried to catch it but it was too fast.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/flies/robber_flies.htm

Ben Framed · July 22, 2019, 01:21:58 AM

Thanks incognito for posting this, I for one will check it out tomorrow. It shows 45 minutes on the video and my lids are getting heavy.

Looks like it will be packed with information.
Phillip

I also want to thank you herbhome for posting the pictures and descriptions of each of these insects. The bees have a lot to look out for. "A bugs life"