Giant Darner (found locally).

Dragonflies are one of the most deadly predators on earth! Lucky for us, their prey is small. They provide effective pest control, as adults eat mosquitoes, flies, ants and wasps.

This specimen was found dead on the concrete in downtown Jacksonville last summer. I think he was probably killed by insecticides. Even though mosquito sprays say they are "only deadly to mosquitoes," that is just not the case.

I learned this at my previous job. As I would eat lunch on the patio every day, I could tell when they had just sprayed, as there were always a handful of dead dragonflies on the patio. We had a little retention pond back there they were breeding in.

I assume that's where this guy met his end, as I have never seen one look like it literally fell out of the sky, tail-up in a crack.

Canvas is 5" x 5". Comes strung with picture hanging wire.

If you want to know more about how these sprays effect all insects, especially pollinators, you can read this article by the National Wildlife Fund:
https://blog.nwf.org/2020/09/what-you-need-to-know-before-spraying-for-mosquitoes/