Common Green Darner & COMET DARNER
Common Green Darners are large, conspicuous dragonflies in flight, but they are somewhat difficult to find perched. They usually perch in low grassy vegetation, or sometimes on tree branches. One of the best times to look for them is early in the morning, especially on chilly mornings when these dragonflies are still sluggish and have not yet started flying.
Mature male Common Green Darners usually have blue abdomens. However, the blue can turn purple at cold temperatures. Immature males and females also have reddish-purple abdomens.
This is a mated pair of Common Green Darners at Oakes Quarry. Common Green Darners are often found at shallow ponds and wetlands. They prefer fishless ponds, but they seem to tolerate the presence of fish better than their cousins, the Comet Darners.
The dragonfly at left is a Comet Darner. These dragonflies are slightly larger than Common Green Darners, and they have bright red abdomens. Also, notice the long legs (half-red and half-black). Comet Darners have a much more limited flight period than their cousins. I typically find Comet Darners from mid-May through July.
The early spring migrants are usually the first dragonflies I see every year. My personal early and late sightings are March 6th and November 6th.
Comet Darners prefer shallow, fishless ponds. I see them most often at Grant Park in Centerville, Oakes Quarry, Caesar Creek Wildlife Area, and Cox Arboretum.
This species frustrated me for years; I would watch Comet Darners flying round and round ponds, but I could never find one perched. Unless you are good at in-flight photography, do not bother stalking a Comet Darner that is flying around a pond. Instead, look for an individual patrolling the tree line away from the water. Eventually, it will get tired and decide to perch. Of course, there is always the chance that it will perch high in a tree, out of camera range. But there is at least a decent chance that it will perch low enough for photo.
A pair of Common Green Darners, ovipositing. The female (on the right) is laying her eggs on vegetation under the water, while the male is guarding her. Photographed March 28, 2020, at Grant Park in Centerville. These spring migrants show up long before any local dragonflies emerge from our winter-chilled ponds.
I found this female Comet Darner at Grant Park in Centerville. She was settling down to roost for the evening in a patch of crown vetch.
This is not a great photo, so why am I including it on my website? Because this is a state record for the earliest flight of any dragonflies in Ohio! I photographed these Common Green Darners at Grant Park in Centerville on March 6, 2022. Unusually warm weather and strong winds from the south brought these dragonflies to Ohio earlier than usual in 2022.
Common Green Darners have a long flight period. Some are migratory and arrive in early spring. Their descendants fly south in the fall. Ohio also has a resident population that overwinters and emerges locally.
In September, migrating Common Green Darners can form large swarms consisting of hundreds or even thousands of dragonflies.
Another female Comet Darner, ovipositing at Caesar Creek Wildlife Area. Female Comet Darners have blue eyes and spotted abdomens.
Comet Darner in flight at Oakes Quarry. Most of my attempts to photograph this species in flight come out looking like blurry red-and-green streaks, but this species has such a unique color pattern that even a blurry photo can be identifiable.