Flight season: mid-July to throughout September.
Population: uncommon to rare, sole encounter with this species to date.
Found near fens, ponds and small lakes.
Length: about 65 mm to 70 mm.
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Tweed, Ontario, about ½ km west of town, a marsh bordering the trans-Canada Trail:
typical local marsh with Cattails, sedges and other emergent vegetation, various small willows, alders, dogwoods and some Tamarack.
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Green-striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis), wheel –
the dragonflies were not captured and examined.
However, in the opinion of a biologist at the NHIC and an expert at
BugGuide.Net the following characteristics are sufficient to identify this mating pair as Green-striped Darners
– the thoracic stripes are green,
with a prominent "flag" at the top of the anterior thoracic stripe
– the small dot between the thoracic stripes is absent
(present in the Canada Darner)
– a deeply notched blue spot on male's S2
– the female's appendages are rounded
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Photo by Jason King (August 24, 2014)
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Tweed, Ontario:
residential and business area.
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Teneral male Green-striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis) –
roadkill, note the wide "flag" at the top of the anterior thoracic stripe
and cleft blue spot on S2
(July 19, 2015).
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The upper surfaces of the cerci bear ridges but lack the distinct bumps present on the Canada Darner (July 19, 2015).
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The hamular folds are flared wider than a Canada Darner's.
The tips are at right angles to the dragonfly's body, pointing toward one another
(July 19, 2015).
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West of Tweed, Ontario, a high and dry field along the trans-Canada Trail:
a dry field with sandy soil supporting short drought tolerant grasses, Sweetfern and Rubus spp.
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Field marks of an immature male Green-striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis) –
the dragonfly was struggling and acquiring images of the cerci and hamules would have taken a prohibitively long time and injured the insect.
These features should be (and were) examined to ensure correct identification
(July 20, 2015).
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West of Tweed along the trans-Canada Trail:
a marsh supporting Cattails, ferns and sedges, bordered by swampy woodland.
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Male Green-striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis)
September 11, 2015
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