Subarctic darner

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Aeshna subarctica

Type: invertebrate

Status: special_concern

Species Guide

Subarctic darner

Aeshna subarctica

Species Type: invertebrate

Conservation Status: special_concern

IDENTIFICATION

Approximately 2.8”, the subarctic darner is a large-sized dragonfly. Their bright, yellow face has a black cross line and short eye seam. Their brown thorax displays yellow and blue stripes that become more spotted across their black abdomen. Male and female subarctic darners are similar in appearance with females having a more robust abdomen.

Distribution & Habitat

This species reaches the southern-most end of its range in northern New Jersey. Currently, the subarctic darner has only been found in Sussex County inhabiting swamps, bogs, and fens with abundant mosses.

Diet

Nymphs eat a wide variety of aquatic insects and even very small fish and tadpoles. The adult’s diet mainly consists of soft-bodied flying insects like mosquitoes.

Life Cycle

The darner is active early June to early October. Females oviposit their eggs on sphagnum, mosses, and sedges along the waterline.

Current Threats, Status, and Conservation

Due to its limited range and scarcity of habitat the subarctic darner is considered a species of Special Concern in New Jersey.

References

Text derived from the book, Field Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of New Jersey. 2009. By Allen E. Barlow and Jim Bangma.

Edited and updated by Karena Di Leo in 2011.

Scientific Classification

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Odonata
  • Family: Aeshnidae
  • Genus: Aeshna
  • Species: A. subarctica