Moorland Hawker – Common Hawker – Aeshna juncea – UK – European Dragonfly photo
The Moorland Hawker – Common Hawker ( Aeshna juncea ) habitat photo shown below is where I first encountered this species in the acidic pools on the edge of the Pennine Hills near to my home. The old English name of Common Hawker may be correct in the more northern parts of Europe but it is a misnomer in the UK as this type of habitat, and consequently numbers of the species, is relatively scarce. Worldwide the Moorland Hawker has the most extensive range of any of the Aeshnids.

KEY I/D FEATURES :

Males are large aeshnids. The frons has a black T shaped mark with a thick stem. The abdomen appears browny black with blue spots on all segments including the last two. This contrasts with the blue bars on the last two segments segments of the Blue Hawker- Aeshna cyanea. The sides of the thorax have two wide yellow bands and there are narrow yellow antehumeral stripes. The leading edges of the wings are also yellow.

Females (and teneral males) have brown bodies with yellow -green spots along the body. The antehumeral stripes are much smaller on the female.

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