Description: 60-71 mm. Drab, mostly unmarked brown darner with two distinct pale yellow spots on thorax and one at base of abdomen. Occasionally a small green-colored stripe is present on front of thorax. Male's eyes brown with a flash of blue or green above. Abdomen also brown, with small yellow speckles throughout. Dark brown spots present at base of the wings. Long leaf-shaped cerci like most darners. Female is much like male, but with completely brown eyes and thicker abdomen.
Identification: When perched, mostly brown body with dark brown marks on base of each wing usually diagnostic. Twilight Darner is also mostly brown but lacks the bold, pale thoracic spots and dark wing base spots. Springtime and Shadow Darners have pale stripes rather than spots on thorax and much more color on abdomen. By far most similar to Ocellated Darner. Ocellated usually has more striping on front of thorax and larger, more noticeable spots on sides. Overall more grayish coloration throughout than the brown of Fawn. Lacks dark brown at base of each wing. In Ocellated at close range, yellow spot on S2 yellow both above and below rather than just above. Fawn and Ocellated Darners are very distinct from other darner species, but very similar to each other and some individuals without close range views may be best left unidentified to species. Fawn Darner is the much more common and widespread of the two.
Habitat: A great variety of streams with currents ranging from small creeks to large rivers, usually with moderate to heavy woodland cover. Fairly common and widespread throughout the east.
Natural History: Both males and females slowly fly low along the banks of streams, investigating every nook and cranny. Regularly perches low in dark areas by stream in woodland or under man-made structures, such as bridges. Most actively flies late in afternoon, often to sunset. Mating occurs while perched and it is common for females to land on people wading or swimming in streams and attempt to lay eggs. Fairly lengthy flight season from early summer into October in most of range, to November and even December in the most southern states.
Andrew Theus adapted from OdonataCentral.org
