Green Darner Dragonfly

The green darner is one of the largest and most familiar dragonflies in North America, easily recognized by its bright green thorax and long, strongly built abdomen. It is found across nearly the entire continent, from Canada south into Central America, and even reaches some Pacific islands.

The species is especially notable for undertaking a well-documented, multi-generational migration: northern populations fly south in the fall, and their offspring, developed from eggs laid along the way, migrate back north the following spring, a phenomenon studied extensively by dragonfly researchers.

• Large dragonfly, body length 7–8 cm with a wingspan up to about 11 cm
• Bright green thorax
• Males show a blue abdomen with a dark dorsal stripe; females and immatures often have a brownish or reddish abdomen
• A distinctive circular or bullseye-shaped mark on top of the face (frons)
• Clear wings with fine venation; the green thorax combined with the bullseye facial mark separates it from other large darners

Found around ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams across nearly all of North America, from southern Canada to Central America, with migratory individuals also turning up well offshore and on Pacific islands.

A powerful, fast-flying aerial predator that hawks mosquitoes, midges, and other small flying insects on the wing. Males patrol and defend territories over open water while searching for mates. The species is one of the few dragonflies known to perform true multi-generational migrations, with distinct migratory and resident (overwintering as a nymph) life histories occurring in different populations.

Eggs are laid directly into aquatic vegetation. The aquatic nymphs, called naiads, are voracious predators of other invertebrates and sometimes small fish or tadpoles, living underwater from several months to over a year depending on climate. After many molts, nymphs climb out of the water to emerge as winged adults; in migratory populations, southward-flying adults lay eggs whose offspring emerge and migrate north the following spring.