Darner (Aeshnidae) - Thorax Patterns

Note: this page does not include all of the Darner species known to occur in NB, only the species for which I currently have photos.   Many of these images have been altered (rotated, mirrored, etc.) to present them in a somewhat consistent manner to make it easier to compare individuals and so that they fill as much of the image as possible.
 
 

Common Green Darner
Ocellated Darner
 

Canada Darner
Green-striped Darner
Lake Darner
Lance-tipped Darner
 

Zigzag Darner
Subarctic Darner
Shadow Darner
Springtime Darner
 

Variable Darner
Variable Darner
Black-tipped Darner
Harlequin Darner
The Variable Darner's thorax pattern is somewhat variable; however, the typical and most commonly seen pattern is 4 spots on each side (left image above).   The front and/or rear spots can also be joined to create stripes or a combination of stripes and spots.   To complicate matters even more, the pattern is not always symmetrical on both sides of the thorax and they and they can sometimes even be missing one or more spots.   Two variations are shown above (and if I get photos of other variations, I will include those as well to show the variability in this species).