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Sticker of Band-winged dragonlet
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Band-winged dragonlet

Erythrodiplax umbrata

The band-winged dragonlet is a small dragonfly from the warm parts of the Americas. Dragonlet means little dragonfly. It belongs to the skimmers, dragonflies that love to sit on a twig and dart out after insects.

Lives in
The Caribbean, Central America and warm parts of North and South America, near water
Top speed
about 40 km/h (25 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting. A big one may nip if you hold it, so just watch it fly.
What does it eat?
It catches small flying insects. Its babies live under water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Band-winged dragonlet
Picture by JeffreyGammon. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It lives on Caribbean islands as well as on the mainland of North, Central and South America.

2

Scientists checked on it in 2017 and found that there are plenty of them and their numbers are steady.

3

Like all dragonflies, it starts life as a nymph that lives under water.

you asked

Most asked questions about Band-winged dragonlet

?Is the band-winged dragonlet endangered?

No. It is listed as least concern, and its numbers are stable.

?Where does the band-winged dragonlet live?

In the Caribbean and the warm parts of the Americas.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Erythrodiplax umbrata
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
North America, South America

Where the facts come from

  1. Erythrodiplax umbrata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by JeffreyGammon. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

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