Black Pennant

Selysiothemis nigra · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Black Pennant
Photo: unknown, CC0

The black pennant dragonfly has a black abdomen about 20 mm long with a white dusting underneath and a black thorax with a whitish belly and white hairs in males. Its transparent hind wings are about 25 mm long and feature a white pterostigma.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males have a black abdomen with white dusting underneath, a black thorax, a whitish belly and white hairs.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The abdomen is roughly 20 mm long and the hind wings are about 25 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is found in Central Asia, the Middle East, and in Europe mainly along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes Central Asia, the Middle East, and the coastal Mediterranean and Black Sea regions of Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

The black pennant is the sole species in the monotypic genus Selysiothemis.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Black Pennant photo 3
Photo: Frank Sengpiel, CC BY

Same family (Libellulidae)

Blue DasherBlue DasherPachydiplax longipennisEastern PondhawkEastern PondhawkErythemis simplicicollisCommon WhitetailCommon WhitetailPlathemis lydiaWidow SkimmerWidow SkimmerLibellula luctuosaAutumn MeadowhawkAutumn MeadowhawkSympetrum vicinumCommon DarterCommon DarterSympetrum striolatum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pennant

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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