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Sticker of Crimson marsh glider
Bug card No. 0373 of 1,500

Crimson marsh glider

Trithemis aurora

The crimson marsh glider is a small dragonfly in a dazzling pinky red. The boy is crimson with a violet shimmer and has red veins in his clear wings. The girl looks quite different, in olive and reddish brown with black stripes.

Lives in
India, Sri Lanka and South-east Asia, by ponds, marshes and slow rivers
Top speed
about 40 km/h (25 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, so you can just enjoy its bright colour.
What does it eat?
Like all dragonflies, it catches small flying insects. Its babies grow up in the water and hunt there.
For real!Photo of Crimson marsh glider
Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

You can see it flying all year round.

2

The boy's wings have a big amber patch near his body.

3

The bottom of the boy's tail is a bit swollen, like a little balloon.

4

It lays its eggs in streams, rivers, canals and ponds.

you asked

Most asked questions about Crimson marsh glider

?Why is the crimson marsh glider so red?

The boys are crimson to stand out. The girls are olive and brown.

?Is the crimson marsh glider dangerous?

No. Dragonflies cannot sting and are harmless to people.

?Where does the crimson marsh glider live?

In India, Sri Lanka and South-east Asia, near weedy ponds, marshes and slow rivers.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Trithemis aurora
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Libellulidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
Lives on
Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Crimson marsh glider (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 Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 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 hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores