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Sticker of Red rock skimmer
Bug card No. 3531 of 4,939

Red rock skimmer

Paltothemis lineatipes
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsDragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The red rock skimmer is a dragonfly from North and South America. It belongs to the skimmers, a big family of dragonflies that often zoom low over the water. Like all dragonflies, it is a quick flier with four see-through wings.

Lives in
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, so just enjoy watching it fly.
What does it eat?
It catches small flying insects in the air. Its babies grow up under water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Red rock skimmer
Picture by Bettina Arrigoni. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It belongs to the skimmer family, one of the biggest families of dragonflies.

2

Scientists who keep track of animals say it is not in danger, and its numbers stay steady.

3

Like all dragonflies, it starts life under water as a nymph and later climbs out to become a flying dragonfly.

you asked

Most asked questions about Red rock skimmer

?Is the red rock skimmer dangerous?

No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.

?Where does the red rock skimmer live?

In North and South America, near water.

For bug experts

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

Where the facts come from

  1. Paltothemis lineatipes (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 Bettina Arrigoni. CC BY 2.0, 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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