CANADA DARNER Aeshna canadensis

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF WEST VIRGINIA SPECIES PAGE

The Mosaic Darners (genus Aeshna) can be hard to tell apart. One of the keys for identifying a Canada Darner is the front stripe on the sides of the thorax. The front edge of this stripe is deeply indented. Also, this stripe is considerably thicker at the bottom than at the top. At the very top of this stripe is a “flag,” a sort of perpendicular projection that points toward the rear of the dragonfly.

Below this front stripe on the sides of the thorax there is typically a yellowish dot, placed closer to the front stripe than to the rear stripe.

The eyes are blue, blue-gray, or green. The abdomen is very dark with blue spotting on all the segments.

Females are much like the males, but instead of being blue the markings are green to green-yellow. Sometimes females have amber-tinted wings.

Males patrol above the shoreline vegetation, keeping an eye out for females, also for rival males. Their patrol is usually at a height of about three feet, and they stop often to hover.

In West Virginia, this species has been recorded from Tucker and Randolph Counties.

The prominent black “lips” help distinguish the Canada Darner from the very similar Green-Striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis).

On the sides of the thorax, the front stripe is indently deeply on the front side. This stripe also has a “flag” (a projection at the top that points toward the rear of the dragonfly). Note, too, the presence of the yellowish spot between the thorax’s two lateral stripes.

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