Field Guide
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Migrant Hawker
Aeshna mixta
Not yet photographed by the community
Abundant autumn hawker; smaller than Southern; often migrates.
Species Profile
Green List; common and widespread with stable or increasing populations in the UK
- 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.
- •The Migrant Hawker is one of the latest dragonflies to emerge in the UK, not appearing on the wing until late July or August
- •It is a partial migrant, with continental populations regularly reaching the UK during autumn migrations, sometimes in spectacular numbers
- •Males have distinctive paired amber spots on the abdomen that distinguish them from similar species
- •The species is expanding its range northwards in the UK, likely in response to climate change and warmer summers
- •Unlike many dragonflies, Migrant Hawkers are often found hunting far from water, including gardens and hedgerows, during the day
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