Red arrow
Rhodothemis lieftincki
Name means: “rosy, plus Themis, the Greek goddess of law and order”
The red arrow is a dragonfly from northern Australia. The grown-up male is bright red all over, like an arrow of fire. The female is a duller brown or orange.
Lives in
Northern Australia, from Geraldton in the west round to Sydney in the east, by streams and ponds
Wingspan
6 to 8.5 cm (2.4 to 3.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies do not sting people.
What does it eat?
Like all dragonflies, it catches small flying insects in the air.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2.5 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 7.9 seconds
How big is Red arrow compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
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)
Red arrow about 48 km/h (30 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its wings are about 6 to 8.5 centimetres from tip to tip.
2
It is the only dragonfly of its group that lives in Australia.
3
Its scientific name honours Maurits Lieftinck, a scientist who studied dragonflies of New Guinea.
4
Scientists say it is not in danger.
you asked
Most asked questions about Red arrow
?Where does the red arrow dragonfly live?
Around rivers, streams and ponds in northern Australia.
?Why is the red arrow red?
The grown-up males are bright red. The females are brown or orange.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Rhodothemis lieftincki
- Named by
- Fraser, 1954
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Rhodothemis lieftincki (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 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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