Things With Wings
UK wildlife photography community at thingswithwings.uk — loading the latest sightings…
🐛
Migrant Hawker
Aeshna mixta
4 photos
·1 photographer
·Uncommon · 10 ptsAbundant autumn hawker; smaller than Southern; often migrates.
4 community photos of Migrant Hawker on Things With Wings. Top-rated shots often use around 1/1250ss shutter, 190mm.
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.
Sources and editorial status
The short identification summary comes from the Things With Wings species catalogue. The extended species profile is AI-assisted and has not been individually reviewed by a wildlife expert, so verify important identification or conservation details with the specialist sources below.
Profile generated 24 June 2026
Spotted an error? Tell us so it can be corrected.
Community Sightings by Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Camera Settings (top photos)
Shutter
1/1250ss
ISO Range
1600–12800
Aperture
f/f/10
Focal Length
190mm
