Migrant Hawker

Aeshna mixta

The Migrant Hawker is a colorful dragonfly that loves to fly around ponds and wetlands. With its bright blue and green colors, it is a beautiful sight to see as it zooms through the air.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Migrant Hawker is a medium-sized dragonfly with a brown body. Males have blue spots along their abdomen, while females exhibit yellow markings. Look for a distinctive yellow 'golf club' shaped stripe on the side of their thorax, a key identifier.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyAeshnidaeGenusAeshna

Migrant Hawker

Interesting facts

Dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater as fierce nymph predators!

Migrant Hawkers can fly thousands of kilometers, even across seas, to find new homes!

They sometimes perform a special "mating wheel" in the air while flying together!

This dragonfly can catch and eat its prey in mid-air without ever landing!

Special abilities

Migrant Hawker has enormous compound eyes that provide almost 360-degree vision, helping it spot tiny prey and predators instantly.

Migrant Hawker can hover, fly backwards, and dart at high speeds because its four wings move independently, allowing amazing acrobatics.

Migrant Hawker can shiver its wing muscles rapidly to quickly warm its body, which helps it fly even on cooler days.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 70-80 mm
Size: 55-65 mm
Lifespan: 30-90 days
Flight Speed: 45 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Migrant Hawkers are fierce aerial hunters who gobble up other insects right out of the air!

Age differences: Larvae hunt aquatic insects and tadpoles underwater; adults catch flying prey in the air.

Primary Foods

Mosquitoes
Midges
Flies
Small butterflies
Other small insects

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

eaten by

Common Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

Kestrels are swift hunters that snatch adult dragonflies from the air.

eaten by

European Perch

Perca fluviatilis

Perch fish prey on Migrant Hawker nymphs living underwater.

hunts

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

Migrant Hawkers are expert at catching adult mosquitoes in flight.

hunts

House Fly

Musca domestica

They actively pursue and capture common house flies for food.

Traits

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.