Giant petaltail
The giant petaltail is a huge, heavy black dragonfly with yellow markings. It has been called the biggest dragonfly in the world. It lives in Queensland in Australia.
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Fun facts
A female's wings can stretch about 16 centimetres from tip to tip.
Its larvae are about 6 centimetres long and live in burrows along the riverbank.
The larvae wait in their burrows and jump out at passing prey.
Its tail ends in little flaps shaped like leaves.
Most asked questions about Giant petaltail
?What is the biggest dragonfly in the world?
The giant petaltail from Australia is often called the biggest, with wings about 16 centimetres across.
?Is the giant petaltail dangerous?
No. Dragonflies are harmless and do not sting people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Petalura ingentissima
- Named by
- Tillyard, 1908
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Petaluridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Petaluridae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Petalura ingentissima (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 Summerdrought. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same 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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