field notes from 02/08/23

Common Green Darner

Anax junius

Common Green Darner perched at eye level
An October morning at the edge of town.
Common Green Darner on a goldenrod flower
Midsummer, soft overcast.

The common green darner is a small thing with a long story, and I’ve started writing it down.

Wind is the enemy. A dead-calm ten minutes can give you more images than a windy hour.

I avoid published counts of population estimates here. My interest is a sightings journal, not a density map.

I’ve started keeping track of host plants, which has forced me to learn more plants than I intended.

As always with insects, I welcome a correction from anyone who actually knows what they’re doing.