Four-spotted pennant
Brachymesia gravida
The four-spotted pennant is a dragonfly from North America. It belongs to the skimmers, dragonflies that like to sit on a perch and dash out to catch flying insects. Like all dragonflies, it begins life as a larva under water.
Lives in
North America, near ponds and lakes
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies do not sting.
What does it eat?
It catches flying insects in the air. Its larvae hunt small animals under water.
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)
Four-spotted pennant about 40 km/h (25 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Scientists checked on it in 2017 and found it is not in danger.
2
The number of four-spotted pennants is steady.
3
Its family, the skimmers, is the biggest family of dragonflies.
you asked
Most asked questions about Four-spotted pennant
?Is the four-spotted pennant dangerous?
No. Dragonflies are harmless to people and do not sting.
?Where does the four-spotted pennant live?
In North America, near ponds and lakes.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Brachymesia gravida
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Brachymesia gravida (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 JeffreyGammon. 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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