Rufous marsh glider
Rhodothemis rufa
The rufous marsh glider is a bright red dragonfly. The grown-up male is red almost all over, from his eyes to the tip of his tail. It zooms over ponds and marshes in many parts of Asia.
Lives in
Many countries of South and Southeast Asia, near ponds, marshes and lakes
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, so you can just enjoy watching it.
What does it eat?
Like all dragonflies, it catches small flying insects in the air.
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)
Rufous marsh glider about 40 km/h (25 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Young males and females have a lemon-yellow stripe down the middle of their back.
2
On grown-up males, a powdery coat covers that yellow stripe, so they look all red.
3
The female is brown, not red.
you asked
Most asked questions about Rufous marsh glider
?Is the rufous marsh glider dangerous?
No. Dragonflies cannot sting, and this one is happy to leave you alone.
?Where does the rufous marsh glider lay its eggs?
In open ponds, marshes and lakes, where its babies grow up in the water.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Rhodothemis rufa
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Asia
- Also known as
- Spine-legged redbolt, Common redbolt
Where the facts come from
- Rhodothemis rufa (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 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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