Straight-tipped Ringtail

Erpetogomphus elaps · Order: Odonata · Family: Gomphidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Straight-tipped Ringtail
Photo: Mike Ostrowski, CC BY-SA

The straight-tipped ringtail is a clubtail dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It lives in Central America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

It belongs to the clubtail group of dragonflies, family Gomphidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Its habitat is in Central America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range is Central America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Straight-tipped Ringtail photo 2
Photo: Mike Ostrowski, CC BY-SA
Straight-tipped Ringtail photo 3
Photo: Mike Ostrowski, CC BY-SA
Straight-tipped Ringtail photo 4
Photo: Mike Ostrowski, CC BY-SA
Straight-tipped Ringtail photo 5
Photo: Mike Ostrowski, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

Where is the straight-tipped ringtail found?

It is found in Central America.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Gomphidae)

Small PincertailSmall PincertailOnychogomphus forcipatusDragonhunterDragonhunterHagenius brevistylusBlack-shouldered SpinylegBlack-shouldered SpinylegDromogomphus spinosusCommon ClubtailCommon ClubtailGomphus vulgatissimusLarge PincertailLarge PincertailOnychogomphus uncatusEastern RingtailEastern RingtailErpetogomphus designatus

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.

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.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.