Two-striped forceptail
The two-striped forceptail is a large, dark brown dragonfly with blue eyes. On each side of its chest it has two yellow stripes. The males have big tail tips shaped like a pair of tongs.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It likes to sit on plants at the edge of the water, and between rests it patrols with its tail slightly bent.
To lay eggs, the female taps the water with her tail or simply drops the eggs from the air.
Its babies under water have no pattern and almost no hair, and they can grow up to about 7 centimetres long.
It is named after an American insect scientist called Edward Bruce Williamson.
Most asked questions about Two-striped forceptail
?Where does the two-striped forceptail live?
In the southeastern United States, by slow rivers, canals, lakes and ponds that get lots of sun.
?Is the two-striped forceptail dangerous?
No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Aphylla williamsoni
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Gomphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Gomphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Aphylla williamsoni (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 Eric Haley. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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