Darners
Family Aeshnidae
Genus Aeshna
Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita)



Similar species – Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis), Green-striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis), possibly Lance-tipped Darner (Aeshna constricta) and Black-tipped Darner (Aeshna tuberculifera).


Flight season: late June to late September.

Population: less commonly seen than other Aeshna species. Found near ponds, marshes lakes and rivers. The individuals encountered to date were foraging over clearings created by trails.

Length: about 75 mm to 80 mm, a large darner.


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.
Male Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita) – the anterior thoracic stripe is deeply notched, the second stripe is relatively broad compared to other Aeshna spp. The face bears a distinct cross-stripe and as a rule the spots on the dorsal surface of S10 are fused. The male's cerci are upturned at their ends and have prominent bumps along the upper surfaces (September 15, 2014).



Tweed, Ontario: residential and business area.
Views of the cerci of a male Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita)
September 26, 2015




Tweed, Ontario, the Moira River, east of town near Collin's Point: rock-bottomed river with fast flowing water, rapids and emergent rocks, the shoreline vegetation consists of wooded areas and clearings supporting tall grasses and wildflowers.
Aspects of a female Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita) – the colors and patterning are similar to the male, occasionally green forms occur. The female's terminal appendages are rounded (September 19, 2014).