Spiny Baskettail

Epitheca spinigera

The Spiny Baskettail is a special dragonfly with long, slender wings and a spiny body. It loves to fly around wetlands and is often seen darting over the water.

Hábitat: Wetlands

Aspecto

The Spiny Baskettail is a medium-sized dragonfly with a dark, often metallic green or bronze body. Its transparent wings may have a subtle amber tint at the base. Males have distinctive spiny claspers at the end of their abdomen, giving them their unique name.

ReinoAnimaliaFiloArthropodaClaseInsectaOrdenOdonataFamiliaCorduliidaeGéneroEpitheca

Spiny Baskettail

Categoría

Insectos

Rareza

Common

Peligro

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Datos interesantes

Its babies, called nymphs, live underwater for years before they become flying adults!

Male Spiny Baskettails use special 'baskets' on their tail to grab females during mating!

Some adult Spiny Baskettails only live a few weeks, but they make every moment count!

These dragonflies can hover perfectly still in mid-air, like a tiny helicopter!

Habilidades especiales

Spiny Baskettail can catch tiny flying insects mid-air with incredible agility, thanks to its powerful wings and basket-like legs.

Its larvae can breathe underwater and ambush smaller aquatic creatures, using a unique hinged jaw to snatch prey quickly.

Spiny Baskettail has huge compound eyes covering most of its head, giving it nearly 360-degree vision to spot prey and predators.

Medidas y detalles

Envergadura: 60-80 mm
Tamaño: 40-50 mm
Esperanza de vida: 14-45 días
Velocidad de vuelo: 40 km/h
Cantidad de patas: 6

Dieta y alimentación

This swift insect preys on smaller flying insects, while its young hunt underwater.

Diferencias por edad: Larvae are aquatic predators, adults hunt flying insects.

Alimentos principales

Mosquitoes
Midges
Flies
Mayflies
Gnats
Small moths

Método de búsqueda

Pursuit

Conexiones ecológicas

eaten by

Eastern Phoebe

Sayornis phoebe

Adult dragonflies are snatched from the air by this bird.

eaten by

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

Fish eat Spiny Baskettail larvae that live in the water.

hunts

Mosquito

Aedes aegypti

Adult baskettails are voracious predators of flying mosquitoes.

Rasgos

Aéreo

Las criaturas aéreas pasan una parte importante de su vida en el aire, utilizando el vuelo para diversas actividades como la caza, la migración o la anidación.

Insectívoro

Este rasgo identifica a los organismos cuya dieta consiste principalmente en insectos y otros pequeños invertebrados.

Espinoso / Puntiagudo

Posee proyecciones puntiagudas y afiladas o espinas en el cuerpo o en la superficie.

Humedal

Este rasgo de hábitat identifica especies que se encuentran en humedales, que son áreas de tierra saturadas de agua, ya sea permanente o estacionalmente, e incluyen marismas, pantanos y ciénagas.