Common Picture Wing

Rhyothemis variegata · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

Also called: Variegated Flutterer, Yellow-striped Flutterer

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Common Picture Wing
Photo: Rison Thumboor, CC BY

It is a medium-sized dragonfly with a dark body and pale-yellow tinted wings.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

It is a medium-sized dragonfly with a dark body and pale-yellow tinted wings.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Because of its weak flight it can easily be mistaken for a butterfly.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Common Picture Wing photo 3
Photo: Ray Jackson, CC BY
Common Picture Wing photo 4
Photo: Licheng Shih, CC BY
Common Picture Wing photo 5
Photo: dhfischer, CC BY
Common Picture Wing photo 6
Photo: Sevin Dee, CC BY

Questions people ask

What does this dragonfly look like?

It is medium-sized with a dark body, pale-yellow tinted wings, black spots on the fore-wing tips and nodes, and a large black-golden patch at the base of the hind-wings.

Source: Wikipedia

Why does it look like a butterfly?

Its weak flight and bright wing pattern often cause it to be mistaken for a butterfly.

Source: Wikipedia

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/Rhyothemis_variegata

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

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

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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