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Animal profile

Common green darner

Anax junius

InsectaPonds, marshes and slow water for breeding, open country and shorelines while migratingLeast Concern

Field profile

The common green darner is a large dragonfly with a green thorax and, in males, a blue abdomen, reaching about 75 millimetres in length. Aquatic nymphs are voracious predators of insect larvae and small fish. It is one of the few dragonflies with a well-documented long-distance migration.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-07-15

Common green darner

The green darner migration takes three generations

No individual green darner completes the annual round trip. Isotope work on museum and field specimens showed a migratory generation flying north, its offspring flying south, and a third, non-migratory generation overwintering in the south before the cycle restarts.

Read with evidence →

Common green darner | Daily Animal Facts