The Green Darner is a creature that defines the color green. Not that their maroon is anything to sneeze at, but one look at the deep emerald shade of the thorax is enough to confirm just how appropriate the species name really is. The marbled translucence is gem-like in quality. It is fitting that these three inch long dragonflies, the largest in Michigan, happen to be a prominent part of this very green month of June.

  Scientifically they are known as Anax junius. This name is a combination of the Greek word for “Master” or “Lord” and the Latin for the month of June (I think you can figure out which is which).  Historically, and hysterically, they have long been known as Devil’s Darning Needles and Snake Doctors. As darning needles in the service of Satan, they were supposed to have the ability to sew your lips shut. I admit, the devil association aside, I have encountered more than a few people over the years who might have been good candidates for such a treatment (but my lips are sealed on this matter). Fortunately only the darning needle part has stuck. Their long slender bodies do have the appearance of a sock-darning needle, kinda – if you get rid of the wings, the eyes and the legs and… , well, never mind.

  This precious stone of an insect only lives for a month or so as an adult.  The individual pictured above is a female freshly emerged as an adult only 24 hours before this shot was taken. Equipped with strong transparent wings, up to 4.5 inches in span (see here), huge compound eyes, and a set of six hairy legs this creature earns the title of Mosquito Hawk. They are very adept at capturing these pesky creatures- which have been proven to work for Lucifer, by the way.

  Darners have the ability to fly vertically, horizontally, and backwards as well as the strength to propel forward at speeds in excess of 18 mph. One website quotes a figure of 53 mph as the top speed, but something about that doesn’t sound right (at that speed I believe they would be turned into darning needles as all their appendages would rip off from wind shear!). If I am wrong on this point, please let me know so that I can sew my lips shut for a few days.

  The large eyes which envelope the head are aggregations of thousands of simple eyes.  The point of view of a dragonfly is nearly 360 degrees and they can pick up the motion of flying prey coming from any direction. I remember reading somewhere that the downward facing eye columns are employed as air speed indicators (judging relative position of ground items as they pass by). I think it was in a comic book, but I’m not sure. I do know that there are backward facing eye columns that detect movement from behind when the animal’s face is pointed foreword. The only other place where this latter trait is found in nature is on those of us who are teachers and/or parents.

  Mosquitoes and other prey are scooped up in a hairy basket created by the legs (see here) and often eaten on the wing. Another website, this one more believable than the first, contains a brief account of a Darner actually nabbing a hummingbird. A bunch of birders who witnessed the incident shooed the dragonfly off as the pair tumbled to earth. Who knows what would have transpired had not those pesky birders interfered?

  Green Darners do not come from humble roots. The Juno of the summer sky comes from the Kracken of the spring waters. As children they are pale dun colored killers. The aquatic nymphs are large creatures (see here and here) that need to spend several years lurking in quiet ponds until they attain their final size. These mini-predators have two mouths. One mouth is located where it should be – under the face.  The other one is located at the end of an extendable arm, called a labium, that is tucked away under the head. By extending the “arm mouth”- in alien fashion -the nymph can latch onto tadpoles, larval fish, and other insects (see here). 

  Aside from eating the occasional hummingbird (maybe!) the adults seem to have a taste for honeybees and can be a pest around commercial hives. This is a small price to pay, however, for having such a beautiful and beneficial insect around.