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Sticker of Asian blood tail
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Asian blood tail

Lathrecista asiatica

The Asian blood tail is a dragonfly with a bright blood red tail and grey eyes with brown caps. Its body has two thin yellow stripes on the back. The girls have a brown tail instead of a red one.

Lives in
From India to Australia, near ponds, streams and marshes
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?
Like all dragonflies, it catches other small insects. Its babies hunt under water.
For real!Photo of Asian blood tail
Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It is the only species in its group, so it has no close sisters.

2

Its name Lathrecista means hidden basket. It refers to the tiny, hard to see parts at the end of the male's tail.

3

The very end of its red tail is black.

4

The first ones scientists studied were collected in India.

you asked

Most asked questions about Asian blood tail

?Is the Asian blood tail dangerous?

No. Dragonflies cannot sting and are harmless to people.

?Where does the Asian blood tail live?

From India to Australia, in marshes near ponds and streams.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Lathrecista asiatica
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
Asia, Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Asiatic blood tail

Where the facts come from

  1. Lathrecista asiatica (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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More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

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