Field card Swamp

Common Green Darner

Anax junius

Lives
Ponds, marshes and slow water across North America and into Central America
Size
About 7 to 8 cm long, wings about 10 cm across
Eats
Mosquitoes, flies and other flying insects, caught in mid-air
Status
Least Concern (IUCN)

Common Green Darner facts

  • Some green darners fly south every autumn, a migration like the monarch butterfly's.
  • Its huge eyes wrap round its head and see in almost every direction.
  • Before it can fly, it lives underwater for months as a nymph, hunting tadpoles and small fish.

Myth Dragonflies sting.

Fact They have no stinger and are harmless to people.

In Word Biome

The Common Green Darner is one of the creatures in the Swamp world, where it goes by the Green Darner. Watch for it in costume as the Ballerina Dragonfly. Tap it in the game to open this field card.

Costume: Ballerina Dragonfly

Sources

Checked against: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, Smithsonian.