Iowa Species Detail

Flight Season

Early Date: June 7    Late Date: September 13

Rare							Abundant
FLIGHT SEASON
JAN				FEB				MAR
APR				MAY				JUN
JUL				AUG				SEP
OCT				NOV				DEC

Description

This large dragonfly can be seen patrolling rivers. The green eyes are spectacular and the gold color of the thorax and abdomen almost shimmers against the dark background. Look for the large single yellow spot on segment 7. Iowa appears to be a transition zone between the darker northern nominate sub-species, Illinois River Cruiser (M. illinoiensis illinoiensis), and the more colorful southern Georgia River Cruiser (M. illinoiensis georgina). The southern form has a half-length frontal stripe while the northern form is lacking this stripe altogether. Other differences include the amount of yellow on the abdomen and breaks in the abdominal ring on S2. The northern form is found in northern and eastern Iowa and the southern form more west and south. Many of those found in the south are intermediate between the two. Look for it along rock and gravel bottomed streams. Is often found some distance from the closest river.

Size

Although some species show a bit of variation in size, the following graphic will give you a general feeling for the normal size of this species.

State Status:  S3      Global Status:  G5

Geographic Distribution - 30 Counties

View All Records

Recorded in These Counties
Appanoose	Black Hawk	Bremer	Clayton	Dallas
Davis	Decatur	Delaware	Des Moines	Fayette
Guthrie	Hardin	Henry	Howard	Jefferson
Johnson	Jones	Lee	Linn	Lucas
Madison	Marion	Monroe	Muscatine	Sac
Story	Van Buren	Washington	Wayne	Wright