Plains clubtail

Gomphurus externus

Eats: Other bugs and small animals Dragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The plains clubtail is a big dark dragonfly with yellow stripes and a yellow face. The tip of its tail is wider than the rest, like a little club, which gives it its name. It likes to sit on rocks or bare sand with its tail lifted up.

Lives in

The middle of the United States and Manitoba in Canada, by rivers and big streams

Length

5.2 to 6 cm (2 to 2.4 in)

Top speed

about 40 km/h (25 mph)

Flying, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, so just enjoy watching it.

What does it eat?

It catches almost any soft flying insect, like mosquitoes, flies, moths and even other dragonflies. Its babies under water eat insect larvae, tiny shrimps and sometimes small fish and tadpoles.

Photo of Plains clubtail — Picture by Michael D Fox. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

as long as 2 toy building bricks in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 9.5 secondsmoves 190 times its own body length every second

How big is Plains clubtail 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)

Plains clubtail about 40 km/h (25 mph)

A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Its baby, called a nymph, digs into sand or mud and leaves only the tip of its tail sticking out to breathe.

The nymph breathes by pumping water in and out of the tip of its tail.

It does not like the cold, so you will rarely see it flying on cool or cloudy days.

When it rests, it lifts its tail up and lets its wings droop until the tips touch the ground.

In a lab, one female laid more than 5000 eggs.

you asked

Most asked questions about Plains clubtail

?What does the plains clubtail eat?

Soft flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies, moths and flying ants.

?How big is the plains clubtail?

It is about 52 to 60 millimetres long, a medium to large dragonfly.

?Why is it called a clubtail?

The end of its tail is wider than the rest, so it looks like a little club.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Gomphurus externus
Group: Dragonflies and damselflies
Family: Gomphidae
Classification: Insecta > Odonata > Gomphidae
Lives on: North America

Where the facts come from

Gomphurus externus (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 Michael D Fox. CC BY 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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