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Sticker of Fawn darner
Bug card No. 1639 of 4,939

Fawn darner

Boyeria vinosa
Name means: “vinosa means "full of wine". The name fawn darner comes from its brown colour with pale spots, like a baby deer”

The fawn darner is a brown dragonfly with two bold pale spots on each side of its chest. It likes to fly in the early morning and late in the day, when the light is low. That is why many people never notice it, even where there are lots of them.

Lives in
Eastern United States and southeastern Canada, along streams and lake shores
Top speed
about 40 km/h (25 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Dragonflies have no sting, so just enjoy watching it fly.
What does it eat?
It catches flying insects while it patrols over streams and clearings. Its babies live under water in streams, among gravel and sticks.
For real!Photo of Fawn darner
Picture by D. Gordon E. Robertson. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It flies low along the water and pokes into every little nook and corner.

2

When it takes a rest, it hangs from a tree twig.

3

The female lays her eggs in wet wood at or under the water.

4

It can take two years to grow from an egg into a flying dragonfly.

5

You can tell males from females by their eyes: males have some blue or green in them, females have all-brown eyes.

you asked

Most asked questions about Fawn darner

?When can you see a fawn darner?

Mostly in the early morning and late in the day, when it is not very bright. It is most active at dusk.

?Is the fawn darner dangerous?

No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Boyeria vinosa
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Aeshnidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Aeshnidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Boyeria vinosa (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by D. Gordon E. Robertson. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.

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More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

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