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Sticker of Desert firetail
Bug card No. 1334 of 4,939

Desert firetail

Telebasis salva
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsDragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The desert firetail is a damselfly, a slim cousin of the dragonfly. It has a long, thin body and flutters low over the water. It lives all the way from North America down to South America.

Lives in
North, Central and South America, near water
Top speed
about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Damselflies cannot sting and are no danger to people.
What does it eat?
Like all damselflies, it catches small flying insects. Its young live in the water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Desert firetail
Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It is a damselfly. Damselflies are thinner than dragonflies and many fold their wings along their body when they rest.

2

There are plenty of them, and scientists say the species is not in danger.

3

Like every damselfly, it starts life in the water as a nymph before it climbs out and gets wings.

you asked

Most asked questions about Desert firetail

?Is the desert firetail a dragonfly?

Not quite. It is a damselfly, a thinner, more delicate cousin of the dragonfly.

?Does the desert firetail sting?

No. Damselflies have no stinger and are harmless.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Telebasis salva
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Coenagrionidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Coenagrionidae
Lives on
North America, South America

Where the facts come from

  1. Telebasis salva (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 Judy Gallagher. 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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