Giants and tiddlers
From a dragonfly 15 mm long to fossil insects with wings up to 71 cm across.
In the UK
In the UK, the biggest dragonflies are about 85 mm long with a wingspan of about 120 mm. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions That size belongs to the larger hawkers, such as the emperor and the brown hawker. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
The emperor is Britain’s bulkiest dragonfly: 78 mm long, with an apple-green thorax. British Dragonfly Society: Emperor Dragonfly
The golden-ringed dragonfly has yellow and black rings. Females are 84 mm long. British Dragonfly Society: Golden-ringed Dragonfly
Around the world today
The living dragonfly or damselfly with the biggest wingspan is a thin, long-bodied Central American damselfly, Megaloprepus coerulatus: about 19 cm. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
Perhaps the smallest is the scarlet dwarf, Nannophya pygmaea, only 15 mm long. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
Griffinflies
300 million years ago, giant dragonfly-like insects called griffinflies had wingspans up to 71 cm. Natural History Museum, London: Giant dragonflies
They probably weighed 100 to 150 grams, about the same as a large apple. Natural History Museum, London: Giant dragonflies
There’s no photo of a griffinfly here: they are known only from fossils, and we haven’t found a public domain or CC0 image we’re happy with.
Next: the species →