Bug Wiki
Sticker of Jumbo dragonfly
Bug card No. 0801 of 1,500

Jumbo dragonfly

Anotogaster sieboldii

The jumbo dragonfly is the biggest dragonfly in East Asia, almost 10 centimetres long. It is black with yellow rings around its long body. In Japan it is called oniyanma.

Lives in
East Asia: Japan, Taiwan, China and Korea, near small streams and ponds
Length
9.5 to 10 cm (3.7 to 3.9 in)
Top speed
about 52 km/h (32 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot sting.
What does it eat?
It hunts other insects. Its big underwater nymphs catch tadpoles, water insects and even small fish.
For real!Photo of Jumbo dragonfly
Picture by Brian Adler 13:20, 28 June 2007 (UTC). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Jumbo dragonfly about 10 cm long (3.9 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 3 toy building bricks in a rowabout as long as your handcould fly across a whole football pitch in 7.3 secondsmoves 140 times its own body length every second

How big is Jumbo dragonfly compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its Korean name means General Dragonfly.

2

Its nymphs live underwater for three to five years and change their skin up to ten times.

3

A nymph can grow to about 5 centimetres long before it becomes a dragonfly.

4

The mother flies up and down over a small stream and pokes her eggs into the mud or sand under the water.

you asked

Most asked questions about Jumbo dragonfly

?How big is the jumbo dragonfly?

It grows to about 9.5 to 10 centimetres long, the biggest dragonfly in East Asia.

?What does the jumbo dragonfly eat?

The adults hunt insects. The nymphs underwater catch tadpoles, water insects and small fish.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Anotogaster sieboldii
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Cordulegastridae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Cordulegastridae
Lives on
Asia
Also known as
Siebold's dragonfly, Oniyanma

Where the facts come from

  1. Anotogaster sieboldii (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 Brian Adler 13:20, 28 June 2007 (UTC). Public domain, 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