#darner dragonfly

[birdsbeesbeasts]

beast #8

Green Darner Dragonfly - Anax junius

An abundant and wonderfully colored dragonfly in North America, though it is found in China, France, and other countries. The green darner gets its common name from their resemblance to darning needles, which are short and thick needles for sewing or embroidery.

Their genus Anax comes from ancient Greek 'anax', meaning ruler or king--many dragonflies in this genus are large, and among them is also the 'emperor dragonfly' (A. imperator).

Their species name junius comes from the Roman month... well, 'Junius', which is now June in the modern calendar. Green darners are supposedly very active during June.

Image from Arizona Dragonflies.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Dragonflies of Ontario - Order Odonata - Happy Year of the Dragon

In honor of the Lunar New Year - which this year is the Year of the Dragon - I have a compilation post showcasing some of the Dragonflies that call Ontario their home and hunting grounds! Just like the New Year's Post, the pictures found here haven't been uploaded to the blog before. Although similar in shape and form, these Odonates differ vastly across sizes, color and ferocity. Some even have patterned wings which can be different whether male or female and how old they are! Most of them in the wilderness, in close proximity to (un-pictured) water sources; it's far easier to photograph when they are close, rather than darting across a lake in pursuit of another insect. The specimens here consist of many familiar species across the many families within the Infraorder known as Anisoptera. Any guesses on the exact number of family classifications featured in this post? To answer that question: look closely at, or rather, behold these colorful, powerful and majestic Dragonflies:

Autumn Meadowhawk - Sympetrum vicinum (Sept 18, 2018)

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer - Libellula pulchella (June 30th, 2019)

Lancet Clubtail - Phanogomphus exilis (June 25th, 2022)

Common Whitetail (female) - Plathemis lydia (May 25th, 2021)

Common Whitetail (immature male) - Plathemis lydia (June 16th, 2021)

Common Whitetail (male) - Plathemis lydia (August 9th, 2023)

Green Darner - Anax junius (September 27th, 2019)

Ruby Meadowhawk - Sympetrum rubicundulum (August 29th, 2019)

Blue Dasher ("tween" male) - Pachydiplax longipennis (July 30th, 2020)

Blue Dasher (female) - Pachydiplax longipennis (August 2nd, 2020)

Pictures taken prior to 2020 were made with a Samsung Galaxy S4, except for the Green Darner which was photographed with an iPhone 8 by a very dear top-tier friend. Pictures taken during 2020 and onward were captured with a Google Pixel 4.

Have a Happy Year of the Dragon and continue to enjoy an amazing 2024! Now, let's see what new Dragon-related insects will join the blog next! For all bug-hunters out there, take extra care not to confuse the Dragons in Pictures 2 and 4.

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invertebrates fashion 🦋

[beanisle]

[floristfawn]

An elegant addition to any nature-lover’s abode. Wings are painstakingly burned into wood, body is handsculpted and carefully painted. Today - Dec 18 - is your last day to order in time for Christmas! Available on Etsy, and ready to ship.

[floristfawn]

Anax junius, aka Darner Dragonfly <3  Wood burn, polymer clay, acrylic paint, love

IG & Etsy: floristfawn Etsy launch soon ~

[animalcrossingexplained]

This is funny because darn is a bad word

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Green Darner - Anax junius

In September 2019, at Toronto’s Ontario Legislative Building, many people gathered on the lawn to hold a strike for the combat of climate change. While this blog isn’t meant to talk about large scale events like this, I have to make an exception this time. Since giving up modernity, technology and our way of life isn’t an option, we need to do all we can to reduce the acceleration of climate change and conserve Earth’s natural resources and protect all her creatures. My recommendations: research extensively, help plant trees and restore vegetation, grow a big garden with food-bearing plants if you can, go as green as you can with regards to sustainable energy consumption, clean up litter (ensuring it goes in the proper bin) and trash, reduce your needs best you can, be gentle with the Earth and stay well-informed on all facets of the environment and our interactions within it and with it. Even insects are influenced by climate change, and in pretty drastic ways in some cases: hotter days mean insect breeding seasons last longer, heat tolerance becomes more of a problem for some and insect overwintering can be extended (to a detriment); as the years go on, I’m going to be comparing my records and seeing if I can find any trends regarding insect activity (I tend to keep track of insect emergence in the yard). At the very least, we should do it for our own sake as the planet will be fine without us, but we won’t be fine without a planet. 

I do my best to contribute in my own ways, but I wasn’t able to attend this strike. However, I did have friends who went and gave their support to the strikers, and while there one of my friends found a rather photogenic Odonate attending the strike as well (more than likely it was just passing by). This Dragonfly is a mature female; mature males have more pronounced blue markings on their abdomen. As well, the claspers at the end of the abdomen are a perfect match to this image guide found on Bugguide (use it for your own reference if you plan to chase these dragons). While the bright verdant color is the giveaway for this specie, look at the Dragonfly’s “nose” to find a bulls-eye shaped marking for confirmation.

The Green Darner like other Darners, can overwhelm and capture prey while it flies around, using their large size, quick darting motions and bursts of speed when necessary. Flies and Lepidopterans are frequently on the menu when this hunter takes to the sky. Though fast fliers, they need to catch their breath and rest every so often and at the very least, they shouldn’t fly too fast if their mouth is full, haha. These are actually quite common around the University of Toronto Campus in the summer, particularly found zooming around King’s College Circle. Look upward next time you pass by, but bring a net if you plan to catch one. If they move to a higher altitude, don’t get discouraged.

Pictures were taken on September 27, 2019 with an iPhone 8. Thank you again, so very much dearest Lindsay. Congrats on a beautiful find like this :)