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COMMON GREEN DARNER
Anax junius
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Common Green Darner is a common and
conspicuous dragonfly throughout Monterey County. Males constantly
patrol over lakes, ponds, rivers or streams, looking for females. They
are almost always in flight but are still easily recognized by the
green thorax and sky-blue abdomen.
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photo (above)
19 Sep 2006 Laguna Grande
photo (below) 28 Sep 2006 Carmel River mouth
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| This species is colloquially known as the "Lord
of June." Perhaps this is an English rendition of its latin name but it
is a fine moniker, for it is a common ode of hot summer days. When the
male does spot a female, there is often a wild chase and, if he catches
her, a quiet interlude . . . |
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| Later, he leads her to a suitable watery spot for
ovipositing (below). I was actually surprised at the number of
ovipositing pairs we encountered in MTY during our first summer of
ode-watching. |
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photo (above)
31 Aug 2006 Laguna Grande
photo (below) 23 July 2006 Salinas wastewater ponds
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 This close-up focuses on the
female in an ovipositing pair. Her color pattern is like a muted
version of the male.
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| It is rare to find a perched Common Green Darner
but I found that near the end of the season, I would encounter perched
males more often. Perhaps they were just getting worn out? A number of
these had nicks and cuts in their wings, but this male (below) was
still in pretty good shape. |
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photo (above)
20 Sep 2006 Laguna Grande
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 Common Green Darner is a common
and widespread species across North America; vagrants have reached
Asia, Europe, and south Pacific islands. It is also widespread in MTY;
the map shows some representative sites at which it has been recorded.
There are specimens from Hastings NHR going back to Aug 1938, and from
Carmel back to Aug 1940. Locales range from lowland ponds and rivers to
streams in the Santa Lucia foothills. It likely occurs within habitat
throughout the county.
Flight dates in MTY range from 14 May to 3
Dec, with a decided peak from July through October. Elsewhere in
California, this darner has been recorded in every month.
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