A darker dragonfly compared to others, the Shadow Darner may be harder to see at night when its does its best hunting.
Many dragonflies boast medleys of bright colors with bands on the long abdomen. The Shadow Darner is less conspicuous. Though it has green and blue coloring, it is less abundant. The overall darkness of the insect gives it an advantage when it hunts at dusk. It cannot escape its large size and flight noise, but its less obvious coloring can make it harder for flying insects prey to see it coming. Besides black, green and blue are the only other colors seen on the body, and individuals may be more blue than green. The eyes are rimmed in green or blue, and the area between the wings are studded with color. Small, tight dashes of color sit at the top of each abdominal segment. A thin blue band sits at the 'waist' like a belt. Diagonal stripes on the side of the thorax are green or green-blue. A single pane in the glassy wings is filled in with orange color.
Shadow Darners are active from spring through autumn. Females use an ovipositor to deposit fertilized eggs in soggy wood. Look for them in the summer near ponds, swamps, and woody banks of lakes where trees and logs are likely to be saturated with water.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Odonata
Family:Aeshnidae
Genus:Aeshna
Species:umbrosa
Identifying Information
Scientific Name: Aeshna umbrosa
Category:
Dragonfly or Damselfly
Size (Adult; Length): 70mm to 75mm (2.73in to 2.93in)
Colors: black; yellow; blue; green; orange
Descriptors: green eye rim; green back; blue waist band; thick tail; yellow green dashes; flying; large; big; dragonfly
Note: An insect's reach is not limited by lines drawn on a map and therefore species may appear in areas, regions and/or states beyond those listed above as they are driven by environmental factors (such as climate change), available food supplies and mating patterns. Grayed-out selections indicate that the subject in question has not been reported in that particular territory. U.S. states and Canadian provinces / territories are clickable to their respective bug listings.
Colors: black; yellow; blue; green; orange
