Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Anax junius - Common Green Darner

Green Darner Anax junius - Anax junius - male Green Darner - Anax junius - male Common Green Darner - Anax junius - male Green Darner - Anax junius Green Darner - Anax junius - female Green Darner - Anax junius - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)
Suborder Anisoptera (Dragonflies)
Family Aeshnidae (Darners)
Genus Anax
Species junius (Common Green Darner)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Anax junius (Drury, 1773)
= Anax spiniferus Rambur, 1842
= Anax ocellatus Hagen, 1867
= Anax severus Hagen, 1867
Size
68-80 mm
Identification
Guide images should allow for easy recognition.
- Thorax unmarked bright green in both sexes
- In mature males the abdomen has a dark purple dorsal stripe flanked by bright blue lateral stripes
- When cool, the blue stripes change to purple and may become so dark as to blend in with the dorsal stripe to give a uniform purplish abdomen (see also Internet Ref. below)
- Immature males, and females, have red abdomens and can easily be mistaken for Comet Darner
- Mature females have rusty brown to purple abdomens
- Both sexes have a large black spot, a "bulls eye" in front of the eyes; a feature that is absent in Comet Darners
Tony's lateral images give great male/female comparison

Some closeups of the end of the abdomen for comparison:
Male:
Female dorsal:
Female lateral:
Range
NS to BC south throughout the USA
Habitat
Adults are strong flyers and may be found anywhere but are more common near naiad habitat: still marshy waters, fresh and slightly brackish.
Season
Late Spring - Fall in Canada. Longer season as one moves south to fly all year in southern Florida
Food
Both adults and naiads are predaceous
Life Cycle
Females oviposit in aquatic vegetation, eggs laid beneath the water surface. Naiads probably take several years to mature. Mature naiads crawl up an emergent plant before adult emerges. Adults migrate north in Spring, these do breed in Canada. In the Fall the adults may form swarms and migrate south.
Remarks
The only Darner that lays eggs in tandem.
Naiads are large. Exuviae can be found on emergent plants just above water surface.
Internet References
Information about temperature-induced, reversible color change, accompanied by photos: Ohio Odonata Society.
Detailed natural history info: Univ. of Michigan's "Animal Diversity Web"