Green Darner

The Common Green Darner, also known as Anax Junis, is a type of insect more commonly known as a dragonfly [1]. This species is considered to be larger than most, and can be spotted flying over top of open fields [2]. They are referred to as 'Darners' because it was old belief that dragonflies were the 'Devil's Darning Needles', and that they could sew people's mouths shut [3].

This is a photo of an adult Green Darner.

Description

This photo shows the anatomy of an adult Green Darner.

The Green Darner can grow up to 8cm in length, having a short thorax and a long skinny abdomen [2]. Both males and females have large green eyes for navigating and hunting, but males tend to have duller colored eyes [2]. As they are considered insects, they possess six legs, 3 on each side [2]. They posses four translucent yellowish-clear wings that connect to their thorax [2]. All Green Darner's have a bright green thorax that connects to two wings on each side [1]. Males and females are typically distinguished by their abdomen color [1]. Female Darner's have a dark reddish brown abdomen, whereas males will have strictly bright blue abdomens [2].