Orange skimmer
Orthetrum testaceum
The orange skimmer is a large dragonfly from Asia. The grown-up male has an orange brown chest and a bright red tail. Its see-through wings have an amber patch at the base.
Lives in
South and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia and the Philippines, near ponds and streams
Length
4.3 to 4.8 cm (1.7 to 1.9 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies do not sting.
What does it eat?
Like all dragonflies, it catches flying insects. Its young live in water and hunt there.
How big is it?
How long is it?
🍚as long as 8 grains of rice in a row🧱as long as 1.5 toy building bricks in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 10 seconds⚡moves 210 times its own body length every second
How big is Orange skimmer compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
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)
Orange skimmer about 36 km/h (22 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Females and young males are olive green to brown, not red.
2
The males often perch near ponds, waiting.
3
When a female lays her eggs, the male flies above her to guard her.
4
It lives near ponds, drains, marshes, rivers, lakes and even gardens.
you asked
Most asked questions about Orange skimmer
?What colour is the orange skimmer?
The grown-up male is orange brown with a bright red tail. Females are olive green to brown.
?How big is the orange skimmer?
It is about 43 to 48 millimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Orthetrum testaceum
- Named by
- Burmeister, 1839
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Asia
- Also known as
- Crimson dropwing
Where the facts come from
- Orthetrum testaceum (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 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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