Common picture wing
Its weak, fluttery flight makes it look more like a butterfly than a dragonfly, drifting over marshes and rice paddies on wings patched with black and gold.
| Where | Marshes, ponds and paddy fields |
|---|---|
| Size | 20 to 25 mm abdomen length |
| When | January to December |
The Common picture wing is a dark bodied dragonfly with wings tinted pale yellow, black spots at the wingtips and joints, and in males a large patch of black and golden yellow at the base of the hindwing. Females show more transparent wingtips with the same golden yellow and black base pattern.
It breeds in marshes, ponds and flooded rice paddies, where males patrol low over still water and the weak, drifting flight often draws comparison to a butterfly rather than a true dragonfly.
Traits
Habitat
Wetland
Colour
Black, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Flies low over still water; safe to handle.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Wing base patch is reddish brown to cherry red with an arced edge, rather than the black and golden yellow patch with straighter margins seen on the Common picture wing.
Questions
Is the Common picture wing dangerous to people?
Flies low over still water; safe to handle.
When can you see the Common picture wing?
The Common picture wing can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Sevin Dee, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Dragonflies and damselflies›Skimmers›Rhyothemis
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.