Pale-green Darner

We were enjoying breakfast at the Hotel de Campo, Caño Negro, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica on 12 July 2017. Into the open dining area flew a Pale-green Darner. Those who had them ran for their nets. Before it could be captured, the dragonfly became entangled in a spider’s web in the rafters. We retrieved the darner, but it had already been killed by the spider.

Pale-green Darners are found in the woodlands of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where they can be common, south to Bolivia and Brazil. They are also known from the West Indies and southernmost Florida. They fly at dusk and dawn. Females probably oviposit in dead wood that becomes flooded in the rainy season (Paulson 2009).