Owlfly vs Giant Darner Dragonfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Owlfly Giant Darner Dragonfly
Scientific Name Libelloides coccajus Tetracanthagyna plagiata
Order Neuroptera Odonata
Family Ascalaphidae Aeshnidae
Size 25-30 mm body, 50 mm wingspan 100-115 mm body, 160 mm wingspan
Habitat Meadows Ponds & Lakes
Diet Predators Predators
Regions Europe Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Indonesia)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Owlfly

Dragonfly-like neuropterans with large eyes and clubbed antennae. Fast aerial predators that catch prey in flight. Often found in Mediterranean meadows at dusk.

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Did You Know?

Owlflies look like a hybrid between a dragonfly and a butterfly — they have large dragonfly-like eyes with striking clubbed antennae found nowhere else in the insect world.

Giant Darner Dragonfly

One of the largest dragonflies in the world, with a wingspan exceeding 16 cm. The body is brown with green markings and the wings are tinted amber. It is a powerful crepuscular hunter.

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Did You Know?

It hunts at dusk and dawn when most dragonflies are inactive, using its enormous eyes optimized for low-light vision.