CreatureData

Green darner

Anax junius (Drury, 1773)

Status not recordeddragonflies

The green darner (Anax junius) is a species in the family Aeshnidae, order Odonata. Recorded adults reach 7.4 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 12 countries, including Aruba, Bahamas and Belize.

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Quick facts about the green darner

Weight
Not recorded
Length
7.4 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
freshwater, riverine, wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Resting metabolic rate
4.09 mWsrc for Resting metabolic rate
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
12 countriessrc for Countries on record

How big is the green darner?

GREEN DARNER · LENGTH 7.4 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 7.4 cm, the recorded maximum length of the green darner is about 4.4% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

What does the green darner eat, and what eats it?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the green darner

5 on record

  1. Western toad Anaxyrus boreas1 source
  2. Cephalogonimus americanus1 source
  3. Echinostoma trivolvis1 source
  4. Ribeiroia ondatrae1 source
  5. California newt Taricha torosa1 source

Recorded predators of the green darner

9 on record

  1. Red-winged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus4 sources
  2. American coot Fulica americana2 sources
  3. Great blue heron Ardea herodias2 sources
  4. Garden snake Thamnophis sirtalis2 sources
  5. California newt Taricha torosa1 source
  6. Western toad Anaxyrus boreas1 source
  7. Red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis1 source
  8. Barn swallow Hirundo rustica1 source
  9. Tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor1 source

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • Preston, D.L., Orlofske, S.A., McLaughlin, J.P., and Johnson, P.T.J. (2012). Food web including infectious agents for a California freshwater pond. Ecology. 93(7), pp. 1760.
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/284978690
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/284978691
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/366668702
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36046276
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/188112720
  • John David Curlis (Expert)
  • THAMNOPHIS SIRTALIS CONCINNUS (Red-spotted Gartersnake). DIET. 2020. Herpetological Review 51(1): 158-158

Where does the green darner live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The green darner is listed for 12 countries.

CanadaUnited States of AmericaBahamasMexicoCosta RicaGuatemalaBelizePuerto RicoJamaicaCuba
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Aruba
  2. Bahamas
  3. Belize
  4. Canada
  5. Cayman Islands
  6. Costa Rica
  7. Cuba
  8. Guatemala
  9. Jamaica
  10. Mexico
  11. Puerto Rico
  12. United States

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: WOL (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

Is the green darner endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the green darner classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderOdonata
  5. familyAeshnidae
  6. genusAnax
  7. SpeciesAnax junius (Drury, 1773)

Synonyms Anax ocellatus, Anax severus, Anax spiniferus, Anex junius, Libellula junius

Other names and names in other languages (19)
  • Darning needleEnglish
  • Green darner dragonflyEnglish
  • Snake doctorEnglish
  • Gwas Neidr GwyrddWelsh
  • Gweision Neidr GwyrddWelsh
  • Amerikanische KönigslibelleGerman
  • Zurcidora migratoria comúnSpanish
  • Anax cyclopeFrench
  • Anax américainFrench
  • Anax d'AmériqueFrench
  • Anax de juinFrench
  • anax précoceFrench
  • アメリカギンヤンマJapanese
  • Amerikaanse keizerlibelDutch
  • Husarz zielonyPolish
  • Дозорщик зелёныйRussian
  • Дозорщик американскийRussian
  • Дозорщик июньскийRussian
  • Common Green Darnerroot

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the green darner

Other species in the same genus Anax.

Emperor

Anax guttatus

AeshnidaeNo free photo yet

Blue darner

Anax immaculifrons

AeshnidaeNo free photo yet

CompareGreen darner vs Emperor dragonflyGreen darner vs Lesser emperorGreen darner vs Vagrant emperor dragonflyGreen darner vs Emperor

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the green darner?

An adult green darner measures 7.4 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the green darner live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the green darner for 12 countries, including Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Canada and Cayman Islands. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

What kind of animal is the green darner?

The green darner (Anax junius) belongs to the family Aeshnidae in the order Odonata.

What eats the green darner?

Animals recorded preying on the green darner include red-winged blackbird, american coot, great blue heron and garden snake. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Which animals does the green darner eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the green darner include western toad, cephalogonimus americanus, echinostoma trivolvis and ribeiroia ondatrae. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Green darner (Anax junius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-darner

MLA

“Green darner (Anax junius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-darner.

BibTeX
@misc{green_darner_2026,
  title = {Green darner (Anax junius)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-darner},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}