Anax junius

Common

Mid-April to mid-October

Ponds, lakes, and slow streams with vegetation.

2⅔″ to 3⅛″ long

This is a large, common dragonfly. It is 2⅔″ to 3⅛″ long, averaging 3″ long.

There is a black spot enclosed by a medium to dark blue semi-circle that forms a “bulls eye” spot in front of the eyes.

The eyes are medium brown, the color of milk chocolate, with a yellow rear (posterior) rim.

The thorax is bright green and is not striped.

The abdomen is thick compared to other darners. The male abdomen has a dark purple top (dorsal) stripe and wide, bright blue side (lateral) stripes. The lateral stripes change to green toward the rear. In cool weather the lateral stripes fade to the same color as the dorsal stripe. The base of segment 3, the long and narrow segment closest to the thorax, is white. When in flight, the abdomen is carried straight. The female abdomen is similar but with grayish-green lateral stripes. Immature individuals of both sexes have brownish-red abdomens.

On the male the pair of appendages at the end of the abdomen (cerci) have a pointed spine at the outer corner.

The wingspan is up to 4⅜″. The wings are clear and have a small yellow area near the tip. The hindwing triangle and the forewing triangle are the same size.

They have an irregular territory and patrol it about three feet above the ground. They perch vertically.

Tadpoles, small fish, mosquito larvae, fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp.

Midges, mosquitoes, caddis flies, flies, butterflies, moths, stoneflies, and mayflies.

Juveniles flock together in the fall and migrate south, following the north shore of Lake Superior for part of their route. American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) migrate at the same time using the same route, and may use the darner migration as a food source during their migration. There is also a resident population that overwinters as larvae. The migrant population reproduces in the south and their offspring migrate north in the spring.

Eggs are deposited inside the stem of emergent vegetation below the waterline. This is the only darner that lays eggs while the male and female are still in tandem. The naiads take several years to mature. When they mature they crawl up an emergent plant and an adult emerges at night.

This is the most common darner in North America.