- Lifespan
- 3–4 months as adults; full lifecycle from egg to adult approximately 2 months depending on water temperature
- Size & Weight
- 28–29 mm body length; wingspan 36–42 mm
- Habitat
- Shallow, nutrient-rich ponds, ditches, marshes, and slow-moving water bodies with emergent vegetation.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread throughout England, Wales, and southern Scotland; absent from northern Scotland. Resident species with populations boosted by continental immigrants in late summer.
- Diet
- Aerial insectivore, feeding on small flying insects including midges, gnats, small flies, and mosquitoes.
- Prey
- Small flying insects such as Diptera (flies and midges), small mayflies, and small moths
- Predators
- Robber flies, larger dragonflies, birds including reed warblers and hobbies, and spiders
- Mating Season
- July to October
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs in tandem with males, depositing 300–600 eggs directly into water or mud. Nymphs develop through multiple instars over 6–8 weeks in warm conditions; one generation per year in the UK, occasionally overlapping broods.
- Behaviour
- Highly active and aggressive fliers, males are territorial and perch frequently on emergent vegetation or the water surface. They are among the earliest dragonflies to colonise new ponds and are renowned for their rapid breeding and short life cycle.