Bug FAQRiver Clubtail
Stylurus flavipes · Order: Odonata · Family: Gomphidae
Also called: Yellow-legged Clubtail, Yellow-Legged Dragonfly, Yellow-legged Club-tail, Yellow-legged Club-tailed Dragonfly
The River Clubtail is a medium-sized dragonfly about 5 to 5.5 cm long with a wingspan of 7 to 8 cm. Males have blue eyes, yellow legs, thin angled appendages and a completely black tenth abdominal segment, while females have green eyes and the same yellow legs. It lives along slow-flowing middle and lower reaches of large rivers in Europe, preferring muddy, clay, loam or fine-sand riverbeds where its larvae develop for three years.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Both sexes have mainly yellow legs; males show thin angled appendages and a fully black dorsal tenth segment. Males have blue eyes and females have green eyes.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are 50 to 55 mm long with a wingspan of about 70 to 80 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found on the middle and lower parts of slow-flowing medium-sized to large rivers. Prefers riverbeds of mud, clay, loam or fine sand where larvae burrow.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both adults and larvae are predators, catching smaller insects in flight. Larvae live buried in river-bed soil for three years; adults use a specialized labium (the mask) to seize prey.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae develop for three years buried in fine river-bed soil. Adult emergence usually occurs at the end of May or June, depending on location. Mating takes place in June or July.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from June through September, varying by location.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is a European species. Its range stretches from France across to eastern Siberia, the widest among European Gomphids.
Source: Wikipedia
Questions people ask
When do River Clubtails emerge as adults?
Adults typically emerge at the end of May or June, though timing can vary with local conditions.
Source: Wikipedia
What do River Clubtails eat?
Both the larvae and adult dragonflies are predators that capture smaller insects in flight.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find River Clubtails?
They live along slow-flowing middle and lower sections of medium-sized to large rivers with muddy or sandy beds.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the size of a River Clubtail?
Adults measure about 5 to 5.5 cm in length with a wingspan of roughly 7 to 8 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gomphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphus_flavipes
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.