Fawn Darner

Fawn darner adults are brown and rather featureless except for two bold yellow/white spots on each side of the thorax. The abdomen is brown with faint yellow markings. The wings have small brown patches at their bases and become tinted brown with age. Sexes may be distinguished by eye color (some blue/green in males, all-brown in females), abdomen thickness, and cerci length.

The farn darner is found throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.

Fawn darners cruise or patrol clearings or over water to forage and look for mates, often in late afternoon or early morning. They fly low, typically following edges and exploring nooks and crannies. When not patrolling a beat, they rest by hanging from tree twigs. Females oviposit in wet wood at or below the water level. This species has been documented to complete one generation every two years.

The genus name Boyeria refers to the French entomologist E. L. J. H. Boyer de Fonscolombe. The specific epithet vinosa means "full of wine", which may refer to either the coloration or its sometime irregular flight. The common name "fawn darner" refers to the adult being brown with pale spots like a deer fawn, and being a member of the darner family Aeshnidae.