Are migrant hawkers rare?

The Migrant hawker is a medium-sized hawker dragonfly that is on the wing from the end of July through to October, or even November in warm years. It is a very common species and can be found hunting in gardens, grassland and woodland some distance from its breeding ponds.

What is the difference between a migrant hawker and a common hawker?

The Common Hawker is larger and darker than the Migrant Hawker, lacks the lime green spots of the Southern Hawker, and has more black and less blue than the rare Azure Hawker of North Scotland.

Is a hawker a dragonfly?

Hawkers are the largest and fastest flying dragonflies; they catch their insect-prey mid-air and can hover or fly backwards.

What is the scientific name for the southern migrant hawker?

Aeshna affinis. Aeshna affinis, the southern migrant hawker or blue-eyed hawker, is a dragonfly found in southern Europe and Asia. It is in the family Aeshnidae and is very similar in appearance to A. mixta.

How big are the large Hawker dragonflies?

The brown hawker is a large dragonfly with a body length of 73 mm (2.9 in). The body is brown marked with yellow stripes in the thorax and the wings are tinged brown. The males have small markings of blue and yellow and are noticeably waisted, and the females have small yellow markings.

Quick quick slow Southern Migrant Hawker

Are southern hawkers rare?

The southern migrant hawker used to be an extremely rare migrant from the Mediterranean. It has become much more common in the last two decades and has even started breeding in southern England. In continental Europe, southern migrant hawkers are known to breed in shallow pools that dry up over summer.

Are emperor dragonflies rare in the UK?

It is a common species of large ponds and lakes, as well as canals and ditches, but is rarely found away from water. The female lays her eggs in floating pondweed. One of the largest dragonfly species in Europe, the emperor dragonfly flies up high to look for insect-prey, such as butterflies and chaser dragonflies.

What's the biggest dragonfly in the UK?

One of the largest species in the UK, the emperor dragonfly measures 7.8cm long. Males are pale blue with a green thorax and black stripe along the body. Females are a slightly duller blue. Both have green-blue eyes and are recognised by their impressive size.

What is the lifespan of a hawker dragonfly?

In some species, the nymphal stage lasts up to five years, and the adult stage may be as long as 10 weeks, but most species have an adult lifespan in the order of five weeks or less, and some survive for only a few days.

What is the ID of a migrant hawker?

The Migrant hawker is mostly dark brown and black in colour. The male has pale blue spots and yellow flecks all along the body, dark blue eyes, and pale yellow-and-blue patches on the thorax. The female has yellowish spots and brownish eyes. The black-and-blue hawkers are a tricky group of dragonflies to identify.

What is the rarest dragonfly?

“The Hine's emerald dragonfly is one of the rarest dragonflies in North America,” MDC Natural History Biologist Steve Schell said in a news release. “It wasn't known from Missouri until 1999, and since then has only been documented from a handful of eastern Ozark counties.”

What gets mistaken for a dragonfly?

Damselfly

An easy way to tell the difference between damselflies and dragonflies is that when they aren't flying, dragonflies keep their wings perpendicular to their body but damselflies don't. Look out for these bugs hanging around water.

Are there fake dragonflies?

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Is a hawker a gypsy?

Historically, ancestors with itinerant occupations may be recorded as hawkers or pedlars but not all were Gypsies.

What is the hawker rule?

The new rules are designed to balance the livelihoods of vendors with the need for smooth traffic flow, public safety, and urban order. According to officials, hawkers operating without valid licenses or encroaching upon key public spaces will face immediate penalties and potential eviction.

Is a common darter a dragonfly?

The Common darter is a small, narrow-bodied dragonfly that is typically on the wing from July to October, but can appear as early as May and still be around in December if its mild. This is a very common dragonfly, breeding in all sorts of waterbodies from ponds and ditches, to rivers and lakes.

What is the rarest dragonfly in the UK?

The Brilliant Emerald is considered to be a nationally rare species. Habitats occupied in Scotland and in southeast England are only broadly similar: sheltered, standing or slow-flowing waters usually, but not always, edged with good tree cover.

How rare is a pink dragonfly?

The roseate skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is native to the Americas, where its distribution extends from the United States to Brazil. It is common and widespread.

What was the biggest dragonfly ever?

The largest known insect that ever existed was Meganeuropsis, a giant predatory relative of modern dragonflies. It had a wingspan of up to 75 cm (2.5 feet) and a body length reaching 47 cm (18.5 inches), with an estimated weight of over 1 pound (450 g), making it comparable in size to a crow.

What is the largest dragonfly in the UK?

Emperor Dragonfly. The UK's largest dragonfly. The Emperor is the most territorial of all the hawker dragonflies. It emerges in late spring and flies almost continuously in the airspace above a water body.

How long do Hawker dragonflies live?

While they spend several years as nymphs underwater, their adult life is much shorter - usually just a few weeks to a few months. During this time, they're busy eating and mating (and looking fabulous while doing it). Some larger dragonflies like this hawker can fly at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

What do dragonflies eat?

Nymphs eat mainly aquatic insects, insect larvae and small crustaceans, but will also eat tadpoles and small fish. Adult dragonflies eat flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, mosquitoes — and even other dragonflies.

What is the difference between a Migrant Hawker and a southern Migrant Hawker?

The Southern Hawker is most easily distinguished from the Migrant Hawker by its complete coloured bands at the tip of the abdomen as opposed to paired spots and by its much more brightly-marked thorax particularly the antehumeral stripes (see photographic comparison).

What do broad-bodied chasers eat?

Food sources

When it catches anything other than a tiny insect - a Pond Olive or even a Common Blue Damselfly for example - the Broad-bodied Chaser takes its prey back to a waterside perch; there it eats the body and discards the wings.

What is the common dragonfly that hovers over water?

The Broad-bodied chaser is a common dragonfly that can be seen in summer around ponds and lakes, and even in gardens. It lives up to its name: its flattened body gives it a fat, broad look.