I was thrilled on Saturday when one of my fellow dragonfly enthusiasts spotted this colorful male Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge and pointed it out to me. Common Green Darners are relatively common, but most of the time when I see them they are patrolling overhead, so it was quite a treat to find one perched.
Common Green Darners are one of the few dragonfly species that migrate. According to Kevin Munroe, creator of the wonderful Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “Common Greens seen in our area in early spring are in fact migrants from points south. They emerge in the Southeast and fly north, arriving here late March thru May. After their long flight, they mate, lay eggs and die. Their young emerge in July and August. Congregating in large swarms, this second generation begins flying south in September. They lay eggs that fall, after arriving in their southern destinations, and die. When their young hatch in March, they fly back to Northern Virginia and it starts again—a two generation migration.” Wow!
This dragonfly was hanging on the same evergreen tree where I recently photographed a Russet-tipped Clubtail—see my blog posting entitled “Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly.” I guess that I will be checking that tree from now on to see if lightning will strike again. When I am hunting for dragonflies, I tend to return first to places where I have seen them previously and then widen my search. Sometime it pays off, though, as is the case for all wildlife photography, there are certainly no guarantees of success.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful.
Thank, Tricia. This is one of the prettiest dragonflies that I see–I love the combination of blue and green.
I was thinking exactly the same, Mike.
Nice!
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Thanks, Mitzy.
Great shot!
Thanks, Louella. The dragonfly was kind of chilling as it hung from the branch, so I had time to carefully compose my shot.
Stunning photo Mike and interesting about their two generation migration pattern – strange! I wonder if there is a purpose.
Thanks. I was so used to birds migrating, that I was shocked when I first hear about dragonflies migrating. It boggles the mind to think about how the necessary information is passed on from generation to generation. I suspect the migration is a mechanism designed to ensure the survival of the species, but I must admit that I really do not know the purpose of the migration patterns.
You have me completely intrigued how this pattern developed and was thinking along similar lines – a backup location in case one fails or changes? Maybe some eggs/larvae hibernate for an extra year or two so there is a backup population? It seems to indicate perhaps they have some sort of developed intelligence.
I have trouble following instructions from my GPS at times, so I can’t imagine how migratory birds or fish or dragonflies manage to return to the same locations. 🙂
[…] tree. Sharp-eyed views may recognize this tree, which is the same one on which yesterday’s Common Green Darner was […]