I have been seeing Common Green Darner dragonflies (Anax junius) hunting high over the fields the last couple of weeks as they prepare for migration, but have not been able to get any shots of them. In theory, they are easier to photograph when they land, but these dragonflies like to hang vertically low to the ground, often in areas with heavy vegetation. I have been repeated frustrated by spotting them only after they have taken to the air as I got close to them.
This past Friday, though, I saw one land nearby when I was already in a field of waist-high vegetation. Judging from the blue abdomen, it’s a male Common Green Darner. I was struck by the relatively dark color of much of the abdomen of this particular individual. When doing a little research at my favorite website for local dragonflies, dragonfliesnva.com, I learned that Common Green Darners deal with the problem of cool weather “by having dark-colored platelets in their blood that rise to the surface when it’s cold, darkening their abdomen color, therefore attracting more sun. On bright, hot days, those dark platelets sink, and the abdomen turns bright bluagain, now reflecting light.”
The dragonfly was surrounded by dried vegetation and there was no way that I could get an uncluttered background for my shots. Fortunately, however, the the colors of the vegetation are so muted that the gorgeous blue and green of the dragonfly really stand out. In the first shot, I zoomed all the way to try to capture the maximum amount of detail, while in the second shot I pulled back a little on the zoom to capture the dragonfly’s entire wingspan.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a lovely dragonfly. Thanks for the fascinating information about temperature, blood and pigment.
[…] Source: Common Green Darner […]
The enlargement demonstrates some amazing detail; really enjoyed the info in your post.
Wow – great colouring! Isn’t nature amazing. I find it fascinating to learn about the adaptability of animals … Inbuilt features to warm your belly – that is a new one😊
Interesting info on the temperature regulation strategy. I wasn’t aware they could do this, but it certainly makes sense. Darners seem more temperature sensitive than some of those late season Meadowhawk species.
Green Darners are especially interesting to me because their migration. The one that I saw may be a member of the group that emerged late in the summer and will migrate south soon. They will perish at the southern end of the journey and it is their offspring that migrates north in the spring. So we can actually see Green Darners early in the spring and pretty late in the fall. The Meadowhawks, by contrast, are around for us only in the fall.