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Sticker of Butterfly flutterer
Bug card No. 0735 of 4,939

Butterfly flutterer

Rhyothemis fuliginosa

The butterfly flutterer is a short, stout dragonfly with wide, dark wings that shimmer deep blue. It flutters around like a butterfly, which is how it got its name. In the right light its wings can even look golden.

Lives in
Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan, near ponds, marshes and lakes with water plants
Length
3.2 to 4.1 cm (1.3 to 1.6 in)
Top speed
about 33 km/h (21 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, and this one eats mosquitoes.
What does it eat?
It catches flying insects, and mosquitoes are its favourite. Its babies live in the water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Butterfly flutterer
Picture by Navian. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Butterfly flutterer about 4.1 cm long (1.6 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 7 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 11 secondsmoves 220 times its own body length every second

How big is Butterfly flutterer compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

In Japan it is called chou-tonbo, which means butterfly dragonfly.

2

In the evening it flies into the forest and rests high up in the treetops.

3

Males have spots on the tips of their back wings, so you can tell them from the females.

4

Its wing patterns may help it find a partner of the right kind.

you asked

Most asked questions about Butterfly flutterer

?What does the butterfly flutterer eat?

Flying insects, especially mosquitoes.

?When can I see the butterfly flutterer?

From June to September, around ponds and marshes.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Rhyothemis fuliginosa
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
Asia
Also known as
Butterfly dragonfly

Where the facts come from

  1. Rhyothemis fuliginosa (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 Navian. Public domain, 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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