Post by boghaunter1 on Dec 11, 2013 8:30:27 GMT -8
Hello Odonata Collectors,
I thought I would upload some photos of the largest dragonfly sp. to be found in Sask., CANADA. It is called the Common Green Darner (Anax junius). As the name suggests this is a common dragonfly found throughout the U.S, however, here in N.E. Sask. it is reaching it's northernmost range in central Canada. This sp. is said to be migratory with females flying up from the U.S. in late May/early June (my 1st sight record was a female in early June 2003); they immediately lay their eggs & now a bit of a mystery occurs... some sources claim the naiads develop rapidly over the summer & emerge as new adults in Aug./Sept & then fly back down south to the states in late fall. others say the naiads develop over 2 summers & then head south (being replenished each yr. by new females coming up each spring... I don't think anyone has really figured out what happens up here as they are a rare sight in Sask. Since 2003 - 2012 I have collected 15 individuals & have confirmed sight records of another 10. They are very large, with a wingspan of 110-120 mm, males (to a lesser degree) & females have amber colored wings, & they are a beautiful bright, almost fluorescent, lime green in color. All the specimens I have collected were in Aug./Sept. & were freshly emerged (immature = young) individuals with bright pinkish-rose colored abdomens... mature adults have varying amounts of blue on the abdomen. An easy diagnostic feature of this sp. is the distinctive "bull's eye" target marking on the top of the head (shown in one photo).They seem to be getting a bit more common up here, over the yrs... in 2012 I collected 5 specimens, however none were seen this season. The latest date I have seen them up here, in N.E. Sask., was in mid Sept. 2012 when I actually observed a female repeatedly laying eggs in a shallow road side ditch among Cattails... the next day after this observation a killing frost hit... I thought they were supposed to fly back south?... the mystery remains.
John K.
I thought I would upload some photos of the largest dragonfly sp. to be found in Sask., CANADA. It is called the Common Green Darner (Anax junius). As the name suggests this is a common dragonfly found throughout the U.S, however, here in N.E. Sask. it is reaching it's northernmost range in central Canada. This sp. is said to be migratory with females flying up from the U.S. in late May/early June (my 1st sight record was a female in early June 2003); they immediately lay their eggs & now a bit of a mystery occurs... some sources claim the naiads develop rapidly over the summer & emerge as new adults in Aug./Sept & then fly back down south to the states in late fall. others say the naiads develop over 2 summers & then head south (being replenished each yr. by new females coming up each spring... I don't think anyone has really figured out what happens up here as they are a rare sight in Sask. Since 2003 - 2012 I have collected 15 individuals & have confirmed sight records of another 10. They are very large, with a wingspan of 110-120 mm, males (to a lesser degree) & females have amber colored wings, & they are a beautiful bright, almost fluorescent, lime green in color. All the specimens I have collected were in Aug./Sept. & were freshly emerged (immature = young) individuals with bright pinkish-rose colored abdomens... mature adults have varying amounts of blue on the abdomen. An easy diagnostic feature of this sp. is the distinctive "bull's eye" target marking on the top of the head (shown in one photo).They seem to be getting a bit more common up here, over the yrs... in 2012 I collected 5 specimens, however none were seen this season. The latest date I have seen them up here, in N.E. Sask., was in mid Sept. 2012 when I actually observed a female repeatedly laying eggs in a shallow road side ditch among Cattails... the next day after this observation a killing frost hit... I thought they were supposed to fly back south?... the mystery remains.
John K.
