Bedfordshire Odonata - Southern Migrant Hawker

Southern Migrant Hawker – Aeshna affinis

European common name: Blue-eyed Hawker

BDS pronunciation: eesh-na aff-in-is

The Southern Migrant Hawker – Aeshna affinis, is an attractive mid-sized dragonfly that is rapidly expanding its range in the UK and is a recent addition to the County list.

Females are less commonly encountered, coming to water only to breed and I’ve yet to see any.

Classification:

Odonata
	Anisoptera		Dragonflies
		Aeshnidae	Hawkers

Mid-sized dragonfly, but one of the smaller Hawkers, similar in size and appearance to the Migrant Hawker – Aeshna mixta, and a little larger than the Hairy Dragonfly – Brachytron pratense.

The male is colourful, with prominent blue markings arranged in pairs either side of the medial line, on a dark brown abdomen. Segment 2 of the thorax features a blue triangle, less obviously ‘golf tee’ shaped than that found on A. mixta. The sides of the thorax are blue fading to yellow, less obviously striped than the A. mixta. The eyes are a vivid blue, more so than A. mixta. The frons is white. Overall the appearance is more blue than A. mixta.

The female resembles the male but with less colourful markings, with smaller, pale yellow rather than blue spots, and pale green-brown eyes. The female shares the same yellow marking as the male on S2.

The wings in both sexes are clear with thin, long, brown pterostigma.

In both sexes the appendages are relatively short.

Overall length: 57 – 66 mm
Wings: 37 – 42 mm

Distinctive and colourful, but may be confused with other hawer dragonflies.

Migrant Hawker – Aeshna mixta
The Migrant Hawker is generally duller in appearance, while featuring more distinct and obviously yellow stripes to the thorax. Segment 2 in both sexes features a prominent yellow ‘golf tee’ marking. The male is less blue in appearance, with a mix of large blue, and small yellow, spots instead of all blue spots along the length of the abdomen. The female appears a darker brown with darker eyes, with the most obvious difference being the presence of yellow stripes on the sides of the thorax. In both sexes appendages are longer than those of the Southern Migrant Hawker.
Southern Hawker – Aeshna cyanea
The Southern Hawker is noticeably larger, and generally greener in appearance, with prominent broad antehumeral shoulder stripes, and largely green sides to the thorax. The male is bright in appearance, with pairs of green spots along the length of the abdomen, except for larger blue markings on segments 8, 9 and 10. The female appears much more green, with a green thorax and larger green abdominal spots. Both sexes have broad markings across segments 9 and 10 that are not divided at the medial line..
Hairy Dragonfly – Brachytron pratense
The Hairy Dragonfly is a little smaller, noticeably hairy, and emerges earlier in the year – usually before the flight season of the Southern Migrant Hawker.