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.
Relatively shallow waters that are still, overgrown, and prone to drying out.
Isolated reports in the County, I have seen them at Brogborough Landfill.
Visible from July to September peaking in August.
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
External links for Southern Migrant Hawker – Aeshna affinis:
British Dragonfly Society | Wikipedia