Fastest flying insect

What to remember

In eastern Australia, along streams, flies a large dark dragonfly with bold yellow markings: Austrophlebia costalis, the southern giant darner. It is credited with 98.6 km/h (61.3 mph), the fastest verified insect flight.

A member of the family Aeshnidae, it also carries a brown band along the leading edge of its wings and may be found on logs in shady areas. An old reference gives nearly 60 miles per hour (97 km/h), with no modern confirmation, so the figure deserves a little caution.

For comparison, the cheetah, the fastest land animal, runs at 93 to 104 km/h. A dragonfly is in the same range, in ordinary flight. The overall title goes to the peregrine falcon, which exceeds 300 km/h in a dive.