''Aeshna affinis'', the southern migrant hawker or blue-eyed hawker, is a

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

found in southern Europe and Asia. It is in the family

Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its o ...

and is very similar in appearance to '' A. mixta''.

Identification

''Aeshna affinis'' is a small ''Aeshna'' and very similar to the related '' A. mixta'' with which it is easily confused. As its name suggests the male has blue eyes and also blue marking on the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

. ''A. affinis'' lacks the yellow T-shaped mark which is found on the top of the second abdomen segment in ''A. mixta''. The markings on the side of the thorax are also different in ''A. affinis'' and ''A. mixta''. In ''A. affinis'' the sides of the thorax are greeny yellow with fine black lines along the sutures. In ''A. mixta'' the sides of the thorax are similar in colour but the yellow is separated by dark brown areas so it gives the appearance of having two broad yellow stripes

Distribution and habitat

''Aeshna affinis'' is found in southern and central Europe and all around the Mediterranean, in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and across

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is found on many Mediterranean islands including

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Where it occurs with ''A. mixta'', which has a more northerly distribution, it is less common. It is a migrant species and so is found further northwards in good years.

Behaviour

Adults emerge in May and are on the wing until September. After emergence the immature adults move away from water and spend a time feeding and becoming sexually mature. This period will last 10 days to many weeks. Males are often seen patrolling low down whereas '' A. mixta'' tends to patrol higher up in the trees. After maturation the males patrol well vegetated ponds and lakes looking for females. The female will be grabbed and the pair will copulate. After sperm is transferred the male ''A. affinis'' stays with the female for egg laying which is usually in vegetation. ''A. affinis'' is the only European ''Aeshna'' to lay its eggs in tandem; the only other European hawker to lay eggs in tandem is ''

Anax parthenope ''Anax parthenope'', the lesser emperor, is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Asia. Description It is a crepuscular dragonfly, active in the dusk. This species can be easily disti ...

''. The larval stage usually lasts two years.

References

* Askew, R.R. (2004) The Dragonflies of Europe. (revised ed.) Harley Books. * d'Aguilar, J., Dommanget, JL., and Prechac, R. (1986) A field guide to the Dragonflies of Britain, Europe and North Africa. Collins. pp336. * Boudot JP., ''et al.''. (2009) Atlas of the Odonata of the Mediterranean and North Africa. ''Libellula'' Supplement 9:1-256. * Dijkstra, K-D.B & Lewington, R. (2006) Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. British Wildlife Publishing. . * Utzeri, C., and Raffi, R. (1983). Observations on the behaviour of ''Aeshna affinis'' (Vander Linden) at a dried-up pond (Anisoptera:Aeshnidae). ''Odonatologica'' 12:259-278.

External links

Photographs of European dragonflies and damselflies
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1413966 Aeshnidae Insects described in 1820 Odonata of Africa Odonata of Asia Odonata of Europe Taxa named by Pierre Léonard Vander Linden