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Sticker of Unicorn clubtail
Bug card No. 4522 of 4,939

Unicorn clubtail

Arigomphus villosipes
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsDragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The unicorn clubtail is a dragonfly from North America. It belongs to the clubtails, dragonflies whose tail gets wider near the end, like a little club. Like all dragonflies, it is a speedy hunter of flying insects.

Lives in
North America, near water
Top speed
about 40 km/h (25 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting.
What does it eat?
Like other dragonflies, it catches flying insects in the air. Its young live under water and hunt small water animals.
For real!Photo of Unicorn clubtail
Picture by Dendroica cerulea from Highland Park, NJ, United States. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Experts checked on it in 2017 and found it is not in danger. Its numbers are stable.

2

Dragonfly babies, called nymphs, live under water before they climb out and become flying dragonflies.

3

Dragonflies have huge eyes that let them see in almost every direction.

you asked

Most asked questions about Unicorn clubtail

?Is the unicorn clubtail endangered?

No. It is listed as least concern, and its numbers are stable.

?Do clubtail dragonflies sting?

No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Arigomphus villosipes
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Gomphidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Gomphidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Arigomphus villosipes (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 Dendroica cerulea from Highland Park, NJ, United States. CC BY 2.0, 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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