Bug FAQNorthern Banded Groundling
Brachythemis impartita · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
Also called: Banded Groundling
The Northern Banded Groundling is a small dragonfly about 2.5 to 3.4 cm long that lives near slow-moving or still waters in open areas. Males have pale wing bands and a cream-colored pterostigma, while both sexes have striped eyes.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Both sexes have a pale cream pterostigma and eyes that look striped. Males show pale bands on the outer wings from the wing node to just before the pterostigma; the bands darken as they mature.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure 25 to 34 mm in body length and have hindwing spans of 20 to 26 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found at the lower levels of slow rivers, lakes and still waters in fairly open landscapes. They prefer softer substrates such as sand or mud.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
It was once thought to be the same species as B. leucosticta.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The species has spread into southern Europe, first recorded in Portugal in 1957 and now present in Spain, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and mainland Italy. Where it occurs, it can be the most common odonate.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It was previously considered the same species as B. leucosticta. Where the two overlap, males differ in vein colour, genital lobe shape and the ventral structure of segment 8.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell a male Northern Banded Groundling from a similar species?
Male wing veins and the shape of the genital lobe, plus the underside of abdominal segment 8, are different from those of B. leucosticta.
Source: Wikipedia
Where might I see these dragonflies?
Look near slow-moving rivers, lakes or still water with sandy or muddy bottoms in open landscapes.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachythemis_impartita
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.