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Sticker of Blue-tailed forest hawk
Bug card No. 0561 of 4,939

Blue-tailed forest hawk

Orthetrum triangulare
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsDragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The blue-tailed forest hawk is a dragonfly from Asia with a dark face, bluish eyes and a sky blue tail. Its black chest has a wide apple green stripe on each side. It lives near streams in the hills.

Lives in
Asia, in marshes near hill streams
Top speed
about 40 km/h (25 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies do not sting people.
What does it eat?
It catches flying insects in the air. Its babies hunt small animals in the water.
For real!Photo of Blue-tailed forest hawk
Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The blue on its tail is a powdery coating, a bit like the bloom on a plum.

2

The first two and the last three parts of its tail are black.

3

It lays its eggs in marshes beside hill streams.

you asked

Most asked questions about Blue-tailed forest hawk

?Is the blue-tailed forest hawk dangerous?

No. Dragonflies cannot sting and are harmless to people.

?Where does the blue-tailed forest hawk live?

In Asia, near streams and marshes in hilly places.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Orthetrum triangulare
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Orthetrum triangulare (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 Charles J. Sharp. 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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