All odonates, that is dragonflies and damselflies, have four wings. The following Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) has a malformed wing: one of its two hind wings didn’t expand to full-size during emergence.
28 APR 2015 | HMP | Common Green Darner (male, malformed wing)
This individual is a male, as indicated by its coloration and terminal appendages. The terminal appendages are shown more clearly in the next photo than the preceding one.
28 APR 2015 | HMP | Common Green Darner (male, malformed wing)
I’ve seen this guy two times during recent visits to a vernal pool at Huntley Meadows Park (HMP). I call him “3.75,” in reference to the number of wings he has. Like other Common Green Darners, “3.75” is able to fly and hawk smaller flying insects; he stops to rest more frequently than other darners, perhaps because he has to work harder to fly than he would if he had four fully-formed wings.
A lot can go wrong when a dragonfly metamorphoses from a larva to an adult. I’m surprised more odonates aren’t malformed, although the ones with fatal flaws probably tend to be uncommon sightings.
Related Resources:
- Malformed odonates, by Walter Sanford
- The Life Cycle of a Dragonfly, British Dragonfly Society
- Odonate Nymphs, by Steve Krotzer, Haysop Hill Photography [larvae are also known as nymphs]
- Odonate Emergence, by Giff Beaton
- Dragonfly metamorphosis going wrong (#423), a YouTube video by nature1upclose
Copyright © 2015 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Anax junius, Common Green Darner dragonfly, Darner Family, Huntley Meadows Park, male, malformed, terminal appendages, vernal pool, wildlife photography
walter sanford's photoblog 
May 9, 2015 at 8:58 am |
Fascinating post, Walter. I’ll keep my eye open for your friend 3.75. If he rests more often than other Common Green Darners then I might actually have a chance of photographing him (unlike his full-winged brethren, which elude me most of the time).
May 9, 2015 at 11:05 am |
How do you think I was able to get a shot of 3.75, Mike? I noticed he landed in the same spot repeatedly, so I moved into position to be ready for one of his rest stops.