Harlequin Darner

Gomphaeschna furcillata · Order: Odonata · Family: Aeshnidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Harlequin Darner
Photo: unknown, CC0

The harlequin darner is the common name for Gomphaeschna furcillata.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Gomphaeschna furcillata is commonly called the harlequin darner.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

The species is found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 29 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Harlequin Darner photo 3
Photo: Matt Muir, CC BY
Harlequin Darner photo 4
Photo: Seth Wollney, CC BY
Harlequin Darner photo 5
Photo: Curtis Meyers, CC BY-SA
Harlequin Darner photo 6
Photo: unknown, CC0

Same family (Aeshnidae)

Common Green DarnerCommon Green DarnerAnax juniusSouthern HawkerSouthern HawkerAeshna cyaneaHarmlessBlue EmperorBlue EmperorAnax imperatorMigrant HawkerMigrant HawkerAeshna mixtaBlue-eyed DarnerBlue-eyed DarnerRhionaeschna multicolorShadow DarnerShadow DarnerAeshna umbrosa

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphaeschna_furcillata

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.