An inhabitant mostly of marshy ponds and slow streams, the lance-tipped darner is generally brownish but with many blue and yellow-green markings. It has two prominent, colored stripes on the side of the thorax that are yellow-green below and bluish above.
Lance-tipped darners generally hunt low to the ground, often within three feet or less. The female oviposits without the male, and injects her eggs into vertical slits she makes with the ovipositor into cattails, sweetflag, or other green vegetation.
The female has a very large spine-like ovipositor and large, lance-like anal appendages. The male claspers are large and paddle-like with a sharp spine pointing downward at the tip.
The adults are active in Ohio from late June to late October. They average in length between 2.5 to 2.9 inches.
Glenn Corbiere
Lance-tipped Darner (Aeshna constricta)
The northern spreadwing is a dark-colored damselfly with narrow, pale green stripes on the thorax and a pruinose whitish color on the last two abdominal segments. The face and eyes are usually bright blue. It is especially difficult to separate this from the southern spreadwing. Adults may appear in northern Ohio as early as May 17 but more typically from mid-June through August and even into September.
They may inhabit temporary pools, but more frequently are found in permanent pools, bogs, fens, and slow streams. The pair oviposits in tandem in plants above the water line. The eggs can survive temperatures of -4 degrees F. When temperatures run lower, snow cover insulates and protect the eggs. The eggs hatch in spring when water temperatures exceed 50 degrees F and take about sixty days to become adults. They average between 1.3 to 1.7 inches in length.
Glenn Corbiere
Northern Spreadwing (Lestes disjunctus)
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