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Sticker of Black percher
Bug card No. 0417 of 4,939

Black percher

Diplacodes lefebvrii
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsDragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The black percher is a small dragonfly that turns completely black when it is fully grown, even its legs. Its big eyes are dark brown on top and violet underneath. It is a common dragonfly all over Africa.

Lives in
Almost all of Africa and the warm south of Europe and Asia, near ponds, rivers and marshes
Top speed
about 40 km/h (25 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies cannot sting.
What does it eat?
Like all dragonflies, it catches small flying insects. Its babies live in the water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Black percher
Picture by Dattaprasad Sawant. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Young ones are not all black yet. They have yellow marks on the sides of the body and yellow spots on the tail.

2

It can live by almost any kind of fresh water, and also on open, empty land.

3

It also lives far from Africa, in India and Sri Lanka.

you asked

Most asked questions about Black percher

?Is the black percher dangerous?

No. Dragonflies cannot sting and do not hurt people.

?Where does the black percher live?

In most of Africa and the warm southern parts of Europe and Asia, near fresh water.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Diplacodes lefebvrii
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
Africa, Asia, Europe
Also known as
Black ground skimmer

Where the facts come from

  1. Diplacodes lefebvrii (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 Dattaprasad Sawant. 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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