Montana Field Guide

The Canada Darner is a member of the family Aeshnidae. Darners are among the largest and fastest-flying North American dragonflies, 2 1/4-4 3/4" (57-120 mm) long. These brilliant blue, green, or brown insects have large, clear wings spanning up to 5 7/8". Their compound eyes meet on top of the head. The female hovers above water usually attached or guarded by the male and, using a well-developed ovipositor for slicing into emergent plants, thrusts eggs one at a time in the stems. Preferred habitat includes wooded lakes and ponds with abundant vegetation, as well as marshy and boggy lakes, fens, and slow sluggish streams often associated with beaver ponds. Wetland systems: Western Emergent Marsh, Northern Rocky Mountain Wooded Vernal Pool and the Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Fen.

Canada Darners (Aeshna canadensis) prefer wooded lakes and ponds with abundant vegetation, as well as marshy and boggy lakes, fens, and slow sluggish streams often associated with beaver ponds (Dunkle 2000, Nikula et al. 2002, Paulson 2009). Away from breeding sites, Canada Darners often perch vertically on branches or tree trunks. They feed at forest edges, over clearings, open fields, and pastures and are often encountered in swarms (Dunkle 2000, Nikula et al. 2002, Paulson 2009).

Larvae feed on a wide variety of aquatic insects, such as mosquito larvae, other aquatic fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp. They will also eat very small fish and tadpoles.
Adult- The dragonfly will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites.

Male Canada Darners patrol relatively small territories along the water's edge, often hovering for significant periods before flying into vegetation looking for females. Copulation usually occurs in vegetation near water. Females oviposit (lay eggs) above the waterline in the stalks of emergent vegetation, slicing into the plant with their ovipositor (Dunkle 2000, Nikula et al. 2002, Paulson 2009).