BLACK-TIPPED DARNER Aeshna tuberculifera

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF WEST VIRGINIA SPECIES PAGE

The Black-Tipped Darner is a member of the Mosaic Darner genus, Aeshna. The Mosaic Darners are notriously difficult to identify to species. When it comes to the Black-Tipped Darner, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that there is a fool-proof way to determine if the darner you’re watching is a Black-Tipped. The bad news is, this fool proof way involves looking very closely at a tiny part of the darner’s anatomy. The additional bad news is that darners rarely perch.

If you can find a sleeping or ovipositing Mosaic Darner, look at the very short, final abdominal segment. If it has no spots, the dragonfly is a Black-Tipped Darner.

Among other characteristics, the Black-Tipped Darner has two relatively broad and straight stripes on each side of its thorax. The face is green.

Females are similar to males, but have a large ovipositor.

The Black-Tipped Darner does well in acidic places. In olden times this probably meant sphagnum bogs. Today, coal mine settlement ponds provide another hospitable, acidic body of water for Aeshna tuberculifera—providing the water isn't too acidic.

A look at the relatively straight lateral thoracic stripes.

An ovipositing Black-Tipped Darner. Notice the scars left on the cattail leaf.

A closer look at those oviposition scars, and at the all-important abdominal segment number ten (the last one) which has no spots. Note, too, the damage to the ovipositor from hard use!

All images on this page are © Stephen Cresswell.

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