Dragonflies are carnivorous—they feed on other live insects. Most of their diet consists of gnats, mosquitoes, and other small insects, but they also prey upon bees, butterflies, damselflies, and even on other dragonflies.
When I first spotted this male Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) on Saturday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, it had just perched on a stalk of vegetation. As I moved a little closer, the dragonfly changed its position, looking almost like it was trying to hide behind the stalk. What I did not realize at the time was that the dragonfly had just snagged a damselfly and was preparing to eat his lunch. Obviously he did not want to share it with me.
Almost all of the times that I have seen dragonflies with prey, they been Eastern Pondhawks, which seem to be particularly fierce predators. Some dragonflies eat their prey in mid-air and I never see them do so. It may also be the case that some other dragonflies fly up into the trees and consume their prey out of sight, while the Eastern Pondhawk is content to eat in public.
It is often difficult to judge the relative size of dragonflies and damselflies. This images lets you see how much smaller and thinner damselflies are than dragonflies. An Eastern Pondhawk is about 1.7 inches (43 mm) in length and the unidentified damselfly looks to a bit over an inch (25 mm) in length.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very nice image Mike! Cool getting it with its damsel meal!
Thanks, Reed. I too think it is cool, but know that some viewers may see it as a bit creepy.
It isn’t just dogs that characterize a dog-eat-dog world.
Every creature has to eat and in nature I’ve found that I can’t afford to get overly sentimental when some of my favorites become prey. Of course, the designation “predator” or “prey” is a momentary one and predators can easily become the prey of a creature higher up on the food chain.
It just occurred to me that since predation isn’t linear, food web would be better than the established term food chain.
That certainly sounds more accurate, Steve. You need some marketing people to help popularize its usage.
Hey, if I knew any good marketing people I’d put them to work popularizing me.
🙂
These are the guys they I see flying around my yard all the time! Great pictures!
Fascinating. I feel a little less guilty for catching them as a wee lad. I don’t recall ever killing any on purpose but I’m sure many creatures have been harmed by the curiosity of young humans.
Undoubtedly that is the case, though I suspect that adults are sometimes as guilty as children. I have some friends who will use a net to catch dragonflies for the purpose of identification and although it is supposed to be safe, I am sure that some of the dragonflies are inadvertently harmed. Cultivating curiosity in young people on the whole is a really good thing.
Amazing catch!
I too am amazed when any predator can manage to snag a dragonfly or a damselfly, which are both pretty elusive fliers, though the edge goes to dragonflies in aerial ability.
I was referring more to your catch, but actually both catches are impressive.
Thanks, Michael. I did not want to assume that you were referring to my catch. 🙂
Interesting post, Mike. I never realised the dragonflies eat damselflies! And as usual a beautiful crystal clear image.
Law of the jungle! 😉
🙂
Beautiful photo!
Wow! That’s crazy: a dragonfly eating a damselfly!
Nature can be rough. 🙂
I mean, I just feel like their fam, lol. I’ve taken some cool shots of geckos eating beetles and spiders rolling up their dinner. 😏
Truly, a damsel beyond distress. One could wish that the predator would start with a coup de grâce, but I’ve seen them in action and they are pretty efficient, so it should have been a reasonably short process. A rare opportunity and a great shot.
Thanks, Gary. It in fact was over pretty quickly. The one one scene that I find a little disturbing is when a snake captures a frog and ingests it feet first. The frog cries out as it is slowly pulled in.
I once came across a large female mantis that had just begun to snack on her erstwhile lover. I was transfixed with horrible fascination, and i’ve tried to purge it from memory ever since.
Yikes. I have heard of that happening, but have not seen it in person.