# Dragonfly Revival Help!!!!!!



## YagerManJennsen

found a dragon fly outside barely moving legs and wings.  The legs are curled in towards his head. I dripped some water over his mouth area. Anything else I can do? !!!


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## Tenevanica

I don't think there really is, especially when you don't know what's causing the problem. He may just be dying of old age, as dragonflies don't live that long.

That reminds me of something that happened a few summers ago. I was at a Rockies baseball game, and there was a massive Blue-Eyed-Darner (_Aeshna multicolor_) that landed on my hat. It stayed their the whole game, and I thought I was just getting incredibly lucky with a "tame" dragonfly. As it turns out however, the dragonfly landed on my hat, and just died. I've got a pic:


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## YagerManJennsen

Tenevanica said:


> I don't think there really is, especially when you don't know what's causing the problem. He may just be dying of old age, as dragonflies don't live that long.


That's a possibility but I still want to try and revive it in case that's not what's is happening.


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## Tenevanica

YagerManJennsen said:


> That's a possibility but I still want to try and revive it in case that's not what's is happening.


ICU for dragonflies?


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## YagerManJennsen

Tenevanica said:


> ICU for dragonflies?


I hope so, the abdomen or whatever you call it on a dragonfly is pulsing in and out like its breathing.


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## billrogers

If it won't drink there isn't much you can do imo. I had an injured one a year or two ago that would eat houseflies if I put them in front of its face.


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## YagerManJennsen

IT might just be hungry and starving to death?


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## Tenevanica

YagerManJennsen said:


> I hope so, the abdomen or whatever you call it on a dragonfly is pulsing in and out like its breathing.


The "Tail" of the dragonfly is the abdomen. Do you mean the thorax? Insects breath through spiracles, not lungs, so the "breathing" you're seeing is likely some other process. I'd have to see a video to know exactly what. The good news is that that means it's alive.


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## YagerManJennsen

Ok I'll try to upload a video. How do you know if it's drinking? As I'm typing this, it curled it tail up to its head and put it back down.


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## YagerManJennsen




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## Tenevanica

YagerManJennsen said:


>


You've stumped me there... You'll see contractions like that in the thorax of most insects, and it could be anything from digestive processes, to forcing air over its spiracles. I haven't seen or leanred anything about that type of movement in the abdomen of a dragonfly. Because its tails is curling up though, it's probably dehydrated. You could try feeding it or giving it more water.

Also, your signature fits perfectly in this situation.


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## YagerManJennsen

Tenevanica said:


> You've stumped me there... You'll see contractions like that in the thorax of most insects, and it could be anything from digestive processes, to forcing air over its spiracles. I haven't seen or leanred anything about that type of movement in the abdomen of a dragonfly. Because its tails is curling up though, it's probably dehydrated. You could try feeding it or giving it more water.


Thank you, should I keep it on its back. Right now I have it laying wings side up on a wet paper towel.


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## Tenevanica

YagerManJennsen said:


> Thank you, should I keep it on its back. Right now I have it laying wings side up on a wet paper towel.


You could try to right it, though I don't know if there's any advantage to that.


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## YagerManJennsen

Still giving it water, it slightly lifted itself up and twitched its wings a little.

Reactions: Optimistic 1


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## YagerManJennsen

Update: the wings were twitching rapidly like it was trying to take off but didn't have enough energy.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Toxoderidae

I'd just let nature take its course. Dragonflies and butterflies naturally die around this time, when I go to my local creek I watch them land on the beach, drink their last drink of salt/water and die right there.


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## YagerManJennsen

Toxoderidae said:


> I'd just let nature take its course. Dragonflies and butterflies naturally die around this time, when I go to my local creek I watch them land on the beach, drink their last drink of salt/water and die right there.


Nice I'm still at school, I'm going to give it to our school police officer to take car of while I'm in fourth period. I missed my government class for this dragonfly hopefully it makes it, if not then I skipped class for nothing.


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## YagerManJennsen

Does dying usually take this long for a dragonfly?


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## Jacob Ma

It could also be from parasitic larvae of flies, wasps, and other parasites.  I found a big green darner in the front of my house once and it was only just crawling.  I brought into the house to prepare it for pinning after being dried, and next thing you know there is a maggot of some sort devouring the darner's abdomen.


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## Tenevanica

Jacob Ma said:


> It could also be from parasitic larvae of flies, wasps, and other parasites.  I found a big green darner in the front of my house once and it was only just crawling.  I brought into the house to prepare it for pinning after being dried, and next thing you know there is a maggot of some sort devouring the darner's abdomen.


Interesting. I find dead and dying darners all the time, and I've pinned them with no problems. (Or surprises!)


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## YagerManJennsen

Update time! I took the dragonfly to the biology teacher at school. We observed it under a stereoscope. He said there wasnt anything we could do for it so I put outside under a bush.


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## Draketeeth

I have heard that a little bit of honey on the end of a toothpick can be fed to an ailing preying mantis to help revive it. Something in the properties of natural honey does them wonders. If you had been able, I wonder if something similar works for dragonflies.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Helpful 1


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## BobBarley

Draketeeth said:


> I have heard that a little bit of honey on the end of a toothpick can be fed to an ailing preying mantis to help revive it. Something in the properties of natural honey does them wonders. If you had been able, I wonder if something similar works for dragonflies.


When I had a Pasimachus beetle arrive almost completely unresponsive, I was able to revive it with some sugary water.  It has made a full recovery and is now fine!  Next time you see something like that dragonfly, you could try either honey or sugary water.

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## Ranitomeya

Dragonflies require a lot of oxygen due to their high metabolic rate and activity and you'll be able to see them actively pumping air with their abdomens.

That dragonfly is definitely dying, there's nothing you can do to revive it. They're usually not long-lived because they run out of energy reserves. They eat a lot to fuel themselves and their near-constant flight, but their activity rate ultimately surpasses their ability to obtain and store nutrients. They are significantly lighter once they near the end of their lifespan since their fat reserves just run out and they are simply unable to eat enough to keep up with their use of energy without it.

Reactions: Informative 1 | Helpful 1


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## Jacob Ma

Unfortunately, dragonflies will only accept insect foods and not sugar or other plant-based foods.  I have tried this before with both damselflies that I have raised and dragonflies and they will not go near it.  You can try force feeding it some soft-bodied insects, but that dragonfly will not last much longer.  Once a dragonfly is grounded (not landed), about 99.9% of the time it will not get up to fly again.  Like @Ranitomeya said, their metabolism rate is so high that even if it were starving or disease-ridden its inability to get food will dramatically lower its oxygen intake & circulation, especially if it hasn't eaten in so long.  Dragonflies are one of the most primitive species of insect, which those very first flying species required much more oxygen than the species of today to process internal bodily functions, so these insects cannot simply handle this much of their metabolism lost and energy lost.

This is the same with many other species including hummingbirds, mayflies, shrews, filter-feeding crustaceans (zooplankton), honeybees, and seahorses.  One thing these animals all have in common are that their adult lives are very short-lived compared to other similar species.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1 | Helpful 1


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## YagerManJennsen

Thank you all!!


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## Tenevanica

Ranitomeya said:


> Dragonflies require a lot of oxygen due to their high metabolic rate and activity and you'll be able to see them actively pumping air with their abdomens.
> 
> That dragonfly is definitely dying, there's nothing you can do to revive it. They're usually not long-lived because they run out of energy reserves. They eat a lot to fuel themselves and their near-constant flight, but their activity rate ultimately surpasses their ability to obtain and store nutrients. They are significantly lighter once they near the end of their lifespan since their fat reserves just run out and they are simply unable to eat enough to keep up with their use of energy without it.


So that motion was the pumping of air? I've seen similar in other insects, but I've never actually observed the same in dragonflies.

Also, it appears you're new here. May I ask what your Entomology background is? I love meeting people who share the same interests as I do! I'm currently an undergrad majoring in biology. I'd love to get a PhD in Entomology at some point, however.


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## Ranitomeya

Tenevanica said:


> So that motion was the pumping of air? I've seen similar in other insects, but I've never actually observed the same in dragonflies.
> 
> Also, it appears you're new here. May I ask what your Entomology background is? I love meeting people who share the same interests as I do! I'm currently an undergrad majoring in biology. I'd love to get a PhD in Entomology at some point, however.


Yes, the motion is meant to forcefully pump air to the muscles where oxygen is needed. Many insects have a similar pumping motion, but it's usually barely noticeable and infrequent due to considerably lower metabolic rates and oxygen needs.

I've been here a while, lurking away. I majored in zoology, not entomology, but it is one of my favorite topics. Animals interest me only slightly more than plants, and amongst the animals, invertebrates are so varied that it's impossible not to be captivated by them; there's always something new to learn with invertebrates since they're everywhere and so frequently overlooked.


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## bugmankeith

I had this happen, I defrosted frozen bloodworms I had and it ate them and flew away after.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## darkness975

The abdominal movements in that video resemble a snake in the way the entire length of it moves.


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