Top 20 Most Common Dragonflies Found in India

Dragonflies are predatory insects from the order Odonata and characterized by large eyes, transparent wings and most colorful patches in body. Dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies and moths have many things in common and known as brightly colored day flying insects.

Ground Skimmer

Diplacodes trivialis species of dragonflies are also known as ground skimmer and one of the commonest dragonflies found in India, with bluish and greenish yellow color.

Ditch Jewel

Ditch jewel dragonfly are found in India and many Asian countries and very com mon along canals, ponds and ditches.

Red Groundling

Red Groundling or Brachythemis lacustris is found in Africa and India. The bright red color Brachythemis dragonflies are commonly known as groundlings.

Common Hawker

The common hawker is a large species of dragonflies, one of the most common and most widespread dragonflies in Asia.

Blue Dasher

Blue dasher found in many types of wet habitat and because of larger size ,can be easily distinguished from other species of dragonfly in India.

Indigo Dropwing

Black stream glider or indigo dropwing is a purple color species of dragonfly, found throughout Asia to New Guinea.

Common Chaser

Potamarcha congener are known as common chaser, common through much of the rice fields or marshes stretches through parts of South Asia and India.

Marsh Glider

Crimson marsh glider is common species of dragonfly and found throughout the year across the Indian subcontinent.

Crimson Glider

Greater crimson glider is widespread in many Asian countries, breeds in ponds and slow flowing rivers.

Anax indicus

Anax indicus is one of the biggest dragonfly with blue eyes, found in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This large species of dragonfly looks similar to lesser green emperor (Anax guttatus) and breeds in ponds, marshes and lakes.

Dancing Dropwing

Dancing dropwing is another species of marsh glider dragonfly with long legs, seen near marshes, weedy ponds and lakes.

Crepuscular Darter

Tholymis tillarga also known as evening skimmer and crepuscular darter, is found from tropical West Africa to Asia. The medium sized dragonfly always found hanging on plants during the dusk and dawn.

Red Veined Darter

Red veined darter is another dragonfly widespread and common species in much of the Indian Subcontinent.

Lined Hooktail

Lined hooktail species of dragonfly is a black and yellow dragonfly, most commonly found near water streams, rivers and ponds.

Black Marsh Trotter

Black marsh trotter is a medium sized red dragonfly, mostly found in bushy areas around woodlands and flying low above water bodies.

Slender Skimmer

Slender skimmer or green marsh hawk is a medium sized dragonfly, found from eastern Europe to Japan. The greenish yellow with black spotted dragonfly is very much similar to green skimmer and preys on bees, smaller butterflies, damselfly and dragonflies.

Scarlet Marsh Hawk

Scarlet marsh hawk and crimson tailed marsh hawk are widespread species occurring from west India to Japan.

Biggest Dragonfly in India

Emperor Dragonfly

The lesser green emperor and blue emperor are multi-colored species of hawker dragonfly, found throughout Africa, north Africa, and Asia.

Granite Ghost

Granite ghost species of dragonfly is native to India and Sri Lanka. The medium sized dragonfly is most commonly and always rests flat on slab rock or cement-plastered walls.

Wandering Glider species considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet also known as globe skimmer.

Common Green Dragonfly

– Damselflies

Damselflies predatory insects are very similar to dragonflies and also from the same order Odonata but smaller with slimmer bodies. All damselflies are very beautiful in appearance and most species living in and around variety of freshwater habitats.