California darner
The California darner is a medium-sized dragonfly with bright blue spots on its long tail. The male has big blue eyes and blue or green stripes on the sides of his chest. It is one of the first dragonflies to come out in spring.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is California darner compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its babies, called naiads, live under water for several years before they become flying dragonflies.
It turns from a naiad into a dragonfly at night, so that birds, frogs and fish cannot catch it while it is still soft.
The female lays her eggs on plant stems or floating leaves right at the water's edge.
Females have light brown eyes, while males have blue eyes.
In California it can be seen flying from February all the way to August.
Most asked questions about California darner
?What does the California darner eat?
Flying insects such as mosquitoes and flies. Its babies under water eat small water animals, tiny fish and tadpoles.
?Do dragonflies sting?
No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.
?How big is the California darner?
It is about 6 centimetres long, a medium size for a dragonfly.
Myth buster
Myth: Dragonflies sting.
Truth: They cannot. Dragonflies have no sting at all. The long tail is just a tail.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Rhionaeschna californica
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Aeshnidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Aeshnidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Rhionaeschna californica (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by USFWS Mountain-Prairie. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Emperor dragonfly
Common whitetail
Green darner
Ebony jewelwing
Globe skimmer
Blue dasher
Littoral tiger beetle
Oblique-lined tiger beetle
Waterlily leafcutter moth
Yellow spotted sedge
Stripe-winged drone fly
Water-meadow grasshopper.jpg){kind=link}