A Shadow Darner

Looking like a piece of stunning jewelry with wings. A Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa). A large insect up to 3 inches in length. They’re found in all provinces of Canada with the exception of Newfoundland, and in the contiguous United States with the exception of Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.

Amazing in flight, these Shadow Darners’ wings beat independently, allowing them to move through the air forwards, backwards and sideways with ease. As an adult they live for only about 2 weeks. During that time they eat flies, moths and butterflies, mosquitoes, small dragonflies, gnats, and damselflies, depending upon their agility to capture these insects.

Beautiful and talented as well.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.