The giant Hawaiian darner, also known as the giant Hawaiian dragonfly or pinao (''Anax strenuus''), is a species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

in the family

Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its o ...

. It is one of two species of dragonfly that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. It is particularly common at higher elevations. This species is one of the largest of all modern dragonflies, reaching a wingspan of 152 mm.

References

Aeshnidae Insects of Hawaii Insects described in 1867 Endemic fauna of Hawaii {{Aeshnidae-stub