Jim Gilbert's Journal

September 4, 1998

     Green Darner Dragonflies

Widely distributed in North America, green darner dragonflies sometimes are seen migrating south with monarch butterflies, just ahead of a big cold front. Naturalists and other observers have recorded the migration of green darners over the years and have even seen the 4-inch insects flying over mountain valleys with hawks and eagles.

An expert hunter of other insects, the dragonfly has a streamlined body and glistening wings that carry it through the air at speeds of 30 miles per hour or more. Like hummingbirds, dragonflies can hover or suddenly dart upward, downward, or to one side. They do not have stinging ability, as some believe.

Nymphs of dragonflies are aquatic and live in ponds or streams where they feed on insects and other small animals. The spiny legs of the adults form a sort of basket under the thorax for catching insects such as mosquitoes and gnats.