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Sticker of Wandering percher
Bug card No. 4622 of 4,939

Wandering percher

Diplacodes bipunctata
Name means: “two spots, for the two black spots on the side of its chest”

The wandering percher is a small dragonfly with clear wings and a little yellow spot where the back wings meet its body. The male has a bright orange or red tail, and the female is yellowish. It likes to sit and rest on a perch near the water.

Lives in
Australia, New Zealand and islands of the South Pacific, near ponds, streams and swamps
Wingspan
5.5 cm (2.2 in)
Top speed
about 38 km/h (24 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, so just enjoy watching it.
What does it eat?
Like all dragonflies, it catches small flying insects. Its babies live in the water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Wandering percher
Picture by Summerdrought. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Wandering percher wings about 5.5 cm tip to tip (2.2 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
wings as wide as 1.5 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 9.9 seconds

How big is Wandering percher compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

In the Māori language of New Zealand it is called tiemiemi.

2

It is one of the first dragonflies to move in when a new pond or pool appears.

3

It can live near fresh water and also near slightly salty water.

4

It has two dark spots on each side of its chest, and that is where its scientific name comes from.

you asked

Most asked questions about Wandering percher

?Where does the wandering percher live?

In Australia, New Zealand and on South Pacific islands, near pools, streams and swamps.

?How big is the wandering percher?

Its wings measure about 5.5 centimetres from tip to tip.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Diplacodes bipunctata
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Red percher dragonfly, Tiemiemi

Where the facts come from

  1. Diplacodes bipunctata (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 Summerdrought. 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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More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

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