📸 PhotoPhoto: Daiju Azuma · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Dobsonfly
Protohermes grandis (Dobsonfly · ヘビトンボ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A body length of 40 mm is about 1.7 times the diameter of a Korean 100-won coin (24 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 In Japan, the larvae were called 'Magotarō-mushi' and used as a traditional medicine for children's nervous disorders as well as for fishing bait and food (Tohoku University).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The dobsonfly is an insect named in Korean and Japanese for the snake-like way it raises its long thorax, and its larvae live in clear mountain streams.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body length is about 40 mm and its prothorax is long. Unlike dragonflies, it can fold its left and right wings when resting and forms a pupa.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Larvae live underwater for about 3 years, preying on other aquatic insects such as stoneflies. Adults live about 2 weeks; an article from Tohoku University stated that adults drink only water, whereas a Kumamoto University study confirmed that adults feed on chestnut flower nectar.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4N5HN
- • wikidata.org — Q2481303
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Protohermes grandis.jpg
- • web.tohoku.ac.jp — 121Protohermes.html
- • kumamoto-u.ac.jp — 20230328
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Darren J. Parker · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Corydalus cornutus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.