- Lifespan
- Approximately 6–8 weeks as adults; total life cycle around one year including aquatic nymph stage
- Size & Weight
- 32–34 mm body length; wingspan 54–60 mm; negligible weight (few hundred milligrams)
- Habitat
- Shallow standing water including ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving rivers with emergent vegetation.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread across southern and central England, Wales, and southern Scotland; increasingly extending northwards. Migratory in late summer and autumn, with some continental populations arriving in the UK from August onwards.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; adults hunt flying insects including mosquitoes, midges, small flies, and other small insects in flight.
- Prey
- Mosquitoes, midges, flies, and small insects caught in mid-air; nymphs consume aquatic invertebrates and tadpoles
- Predators
- Birds including hobbies and sparrowhawks; frogs and fish predate nymphs; robber flies and other large insects may take adults
- Mating Season
- July to October
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs directly into or over water (endophytic or exophytic depending on conditions). Eggs hatch within weeks; nymphs undergo 10–12 instars over 6–9 months in water before emergence as adults.
- Behaviour
- Highly active fliers with rapid, jerky flight patterns; males patrol territories over water. Known for migratory behaviour, with large numbers moving southwards in autumn. Often seen far from water bodies during dispersal.