Paddle-tailed Darner

Dragonflies: Darners Blue-eyed Darner California Darner Common Green Darner Dragonfly Pictures

The Paddle-tailed Darner (Aeshna palmata) is one of fifteen Mosaic Darner species found in the United States.

Many of the mosaic darners have blue spot patterns on the abdomen, making for difficult identificaion. Taking into accout the two-toned striped thorax, the blue pattern on the abdomen and the extended tip of the tail (seen in the bottom picture), the top picture is tentatively identified as a Paddle-tailed Darner.

They have a habit of hovering in place, which provides for many opportunities to photograph one in flight. The gray background in the picture indicates a cloudy day. The use of a flash helped capture the image.

© 2006. Patricia A. Michaels.