The dragonhunter (''Hagenius brevistylus'') is a clubtail

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Dragonhunter-side

The dragonfly is much larger than any other North American clubtail, at , with black and yellow markings and green eyes. Males can be distinguished at a distance by their habit of curling their abdomens under while flying, forming a sideways J shape. The dragonhunter is the only member of

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Hagenius''. Its closest relatives are Asian dragonflies of genus ''

Sieboldius ''Sieboldius'' is a genus of dragonflies in the family Gomphidae. The genus occurs in Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, a ...

'', which are also sometimes called "dragonhunters". Together, the two genera form the subfamily Hageniinae. The

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

is unusual, with a very flat, wide body. It is slow-moving and lives among bark and leaf litter at the edges of streams, where its dark color provides

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

. The adult feeds on large insects, including

darner Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 species. The family includes some of the largest dragonflies. Description Common worldwide or nearly ...

and clubtail dragonflies, sometimes ambushing them from above. It also takes

monarch butterflies The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. ...

, eating the thorax and abdomen first to avoid the greatest concentration of

cardenolide A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycoside ...

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived ...

References

External links

''Hagenius brevistylus ''
BugGuide {{Taxonbar, from1=Q372177, from2=Q2719378 Gomphidae