Green Darner Dragonfly: Washington state insect

Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum
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September 8, 2016 | Burke Museum
Bugs

Did you know that the Washington state insect is the Green Darner Dragonfly? These two beautiful Green Darner Dragonfly (Anax junius) specimens were recently collected in Magnuson Park in Seattle, WA and are now part of the Burke collection.

The Green Darner Dragonfly is one of the largest and fastest-flying dragonflies. They are commonly found throughout North America, migrating north for the summer from Mexico and the southern United States.

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closeup of two pinned dragonfly specimens
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum

Two Green Darner Dragonfly specimens

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  • •
close up of pinned dragonfly
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum

Green Darner Dragonfly specimen

  • •
  • •
  • •
  • •
closeup of two pinned dragonfly specimens
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum

Two Green Darner Dragonfly specimens

  • •
  • •
  • •
  • •
close up of pinned dragonfly
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum
Photo: Nikki Macgregor/Burke Museum

Green Darner Dragonfly specimen

Interestingly, according to Science Magazine, they were once believed to lack a sense of smell but a new study found that they may use odors to hunt prey. They also have excellent eyesight—each of their large eyes has around 30,000 lenses!

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Explore more from Washington State and learn more about the Arachnology & Entomology collections at the Burke Museum.

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