Black pondhawk
Erythemis attala
The black pondhawk is a dragonfly that lives in the Americas. It belongs to the skimmers, a big family of dragonflies. It flies fast on four see-through wings and catches its food in the air.
Lives in
North, Central and South America and the Caribbean islands, near ponds and other water
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, so you can just enjoy watching it fly.
What does it eat?
It catches small flying insects in the air. Its babies live in the water and hunt tiny water animals.
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 pondhawk about 40 km/h (25 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It lives in a huge area, from North America all the way to South America and on Caribbean islands.
2
Scientists checked on it in 2017 and found there are plenty of them and their numbers are steady.
3
Like all dragonflies, it starts life as a baby living under water.
you asked
Most asked questions about Black pondhawk
?Is the black pondhawk dangerous?
No. Dragonflies cannot sting and are harmless to people.
?Is the black pondhawk endangered?
No. Scientists say it is not in danger and its numbers are stable.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Erythemis attala
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Erythemis attala (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 Evaldo Resende. CC BY-SA 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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