Black-shouldered spinyleg
Dromogomphus spinosus
The black-shouldered spinyleg is a dragonfly with long spines on its legs. The spines work like a cage to grab insects out of the air. True to its name, its shoulders are black.
Lives in
Eastern North America, from Manitoba to the east coast and Florida, near rivers and lakes
Length
6.4 cm (2.5 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting.
What does it eat?
It catches flying insects, using the long spines on its legs to hold them.
How big is it?
How long is it?
🧱as long as 2 toy building bricks in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 9.2 seconds⚡moves 180 times its own body length every second
How big is Black-shouldered spinyleg compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
Black-shouldered spinyleg about 41 km/h (25 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
On its back it has a light green mark shaped like the letter I.
2
The end of its tail is wider, like a club, with yellow marks on the sides.
3
It flies from late May to early September.
you asked
Most asked questions about Black-shouldered spinyleg
?Why does the spinyleg have spines on its legs?
The long spines help it catch and hold its prey.
?How big is the black-shouldered spinyleg?
Grown-ups are about 64 millimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Dromogomphus spinosus
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Gomphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Gomphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Dromogomphus spinosus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by D. Gordon E. Robertson. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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