Even though observing a couple of flies around our living room may be annoying sometimes, these little creatures do play an important role on our planet. Apart from acting as little cleaners thanks to their love towards rotting matter and feces, they are also great helpers in getting rid of a far much greater annoyance: mosquitos. So yes, if we have to choose between mosquitoes and flies, we choose flies every single time.
If you think in a similar way, get these little flies into a working contract and let them do the job for you. Which flies eat mosquitoes? We are sharing a list of the most popular species below, and we are contributing to clear out the legends once and for all.
Do Crane Flies Eat Mosquitoes?
No, not really. Although they are often referred to as the mosquito eaters, modern research is proving the negative. Crane flies, even though they are called flies, are actually distant relatives of mosquitoes. Therefore, thinking that they either hunt or feed on mosquitoes is quite wrong, actually.l
If you carefully observe crane flies, you may probably see for yourself how similar they look to their cousins. However, as a main difference, they feature no proboscis, meaning that they are completely incapable of penetrating skin. Just as mosquitos do, crane flies also feed on nectar from flowers and plants. Therefore, these super-light creatures are completely harmless to humans yet completely irrelevant to mosquito control.
Do Dragonflies Eat Mosquitoes?
Oh yes, dragonflies are probably among the most efficient mosquito killers on the planet. Their secret lays in their athletic agility as well as in their flying speed. Dragonflies have excellent vision, and this certainly allows them to hunt mosquitoes down efficiently and not to leave any around. In fact, they strategically feed on mosquitoes, instead of occasionally accepting them as a meal when nothing better is around, so this can be surely characterized as a targeted hunt activity.
Another important factor consists of the fact that both mosquitoes and dragonflies basically share the same environmental requirements to survive. Access to a source of stagnant water as well as plenty of flowers around is exactly what they need to thrive. Moreover, dragonfly larvae can often compete for nutrients with mosquito larvae, with always turning out as the winners of such battle. And adults can often decide to eat mosquito larvae, too, meaning that they can help also in not even allowing mosquitoes to start buzzing around. Thank you, dragonflies!
- Related: Mosquito lifespan
That said, we should also mention the other side of the story. Even though dragonflies are the most ideal choice of mosquito eater for your home, trying to attract them may sometimes turn into an increased population of mosquitoes. Indeed, with both dragonflies and mosquitoes being attracted to flowers, stagnant water and light, this can become extremely tricky to setup properly.
Imagine having a few dozens of mosquitos around your garden. If you are not sure where they come from, it may perhaps be just a forgotten flowerpot. Now, if you want to attract dragonflies so they can eat those mosquitoes, you should setup some additional water source for them. Consequentially, this may appeal dragonflies, but it may also lead to even more mosquitoes being attracted to your garden area. Therefore, such potential outcome should definitely not be disregarded.
Do Mosquito Hawks Eat Mosquitoes?
Before answering this question, it would be probably good to define what mosquito hawks are. Well, certainly not hawks. Instead, some people think of crane flies when mentioning mosquito hawks, while others have dragonflies and damselflies in mind. Therefore, the answer should be binary.
On one side, crane flies do not feed on mosquitoes, and this is a usual misconception which has been proven wrong just recently. On the other side, both dragonflies and damselflies are excellent helpers in fighting mosquitos, and they can be considered as amazing hunters. Remarkably similar to dragonflies, damselflies too live in the vicinity of stagnant water. This certainly makes them highly efficient in eating both adult mosquitoes as well as their larvae.
Do Flies Eat Mosquitoes?
Standard flies feed remarkably similarly to mosquitoes, but they do not eat mosquitoes per se. Flies love flower and fruit nectar, so mosquitoes are simply not their favorite choice of meal.
Some flies, although can feed on decomposing matter. Therefore, if a dead mosquito happens to be around, they may just decide to eat it. But otherwise, they will not be bothered by them, and they will definitely not go chasing them around the garden.
Do Fish Flies Eat Mosquitoes?
Fish flies are specific because they basically spend most of their life being larvae, not adults. And this is exactly the life stage during which they act as little predators. Indeed, instead feeding on aquatic plants only, they will happily chase down any available insect. But mostly, their larvae.
Since mosquitoes lay their eggs into water, this is the place where their larvae will spend such entire life stage. Fish flies are, therefore, great helpers into controlling the mosquito population around your home environment, and mostly by eating them before they even get the chance of developing into adults and start buzzing around your head.
Wrapping Up
Some insects are more important to the environment than others, and that is a fact. Furthermore, some insects are less of a nuisance to people, but also a hazard. With mosquitoes being the top number one animal on the planet in the number of human deaths that it causes, and with knowing how irritable they can become during summertime, it should come as no surprise that we want to control their presence around our homes. And sometimes, this is easier to obtain than other times.
- Related: Keeping mosquitoes away
Apart from harsh chemicals and alternative natural remedies, you can try hiring some less-annoying flies to eat your mosquito population. Dragonflies are the far best solution, but they can also lead to a counter effect. Crane flies are actually not flies, but simply larger cousins of mosquitoes. So, what will your choice be?
