Female moorland hawkers have reproductive sensitivity that may attribute to their unusually evasive behavior. (1) Rassim Khelifa of the University of Zurich witnessed the behavior when studying the moorland hawker dragonfly. The Common Hawker Dragonfly is found throughout the Britain and Ireland as well as the rest of Europe, Asia and North America.
The common hawker, moorland hawker or sedge darner (Aeshna juncea) is one of the larger species of hawker dragonflies. Similar in appearance to other Hawkers but only shares its moorland habitat with Azure Hawker. Common or Moorland Hawker Dragonfly (Aeschna juncea) in flight. Usually the females find some protection in the long grass surrounding the ponds, so Khalefia watched as they moved out of the vegetation once they'd deposited their eggs. They are usually found in moorland areas where they hunt for food on the wing and have the ability to hover before swooping on their prey, known as hawking; hence their name. When summer arrives in the Swiss Alps, male moorland hawker dragonflies line up near ponds, waiting to pounce on potential mates. The Common Hawker is larger, has yellow markings and yellow costa (leading wing vein) instead of brown. The Southern Hawker Dragonfly, Aeshna cyanea, emerging from the larval case, exuvia at Woolbeding Common in July. Unlike some other species of dragonfly, the moorland hawker females lack protection by their male mates while laying eggs, leaving them vulnerable to harassment that could damage their reproductive tract during such a vulnerable time.
Khelifa is interested in seeing if the moorland hawker is the only dragonfly species that uses this avoidance maneuver. While collecting some larvae samples in the Swiss Alps, Rassim Khelifa from the University of Zurich, has witnessed this behavior for the first time in the moorland hawker dragonfly (Aeshna juncea). A Common Hawker dragonfly in mid flight at Cors Ian, Ceredigion. Aeshna juncea (Moorland Hawker in Europe or Sedge Darner in the USA) is a very large hawker with a huge range: it can be found in most of the Palearctic area, all the way to Japan, as well as in northern North America. This is specific to one dragonfly type, they are known as the moorland hawkers, but there are other types who would also do the same thing.
High in the Swiss Alps, the female moorland hawker dragonfly has a problem. The moorland hawker dragonfly, also known as the common hawker (Aeshna juncea) is one of the largest species of dragonflies, growing to nearly three inches in length.They are endemic to the Palearctic and northern regions of North America. Rassim Khelifa from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, witnessed the behaviour for the first time in the moorland hawker dragonfly (Aeshna juncea). Common Green Darner Dragonfly (Anax junius) nymph, Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA. It is 74 millimetres (2.9 in) long with a brown body. Image: Ben Sale / Flickr CC. Rassim Khelifa was studying the effects of climate change on moorland hawker dragonfly eggs in the Swiss Alps as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich. Dragonfly-ing could be the new ghosting. Male Moorland Hawkers have a black abdomen adorned with a pattern of bright blue and yellow spots and a brown thorax with two yellow dorsal stripes on each side. This story appears in the June 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine. Or, you could do as the female moorland hawker dragonfly does, and pretend to be dead. It is 74 millimetres (2.9 in) long with a brown body. A Common Hawker dragonfly in mid flight at Cors Ian, Ceredigion. "After copulation, the male detached himself from the female and flew away," wrote Khelifa. No need to register, buy now! The male and female can be easily distinguished. Moorland Hawker – Common Hawker – Aeshna juncea – UK – European Dragonfly photo The Moorland Hawker – Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) habitat photo shown below is where I first encountered this species in the acidic pools on the edge of the Pennine Hills near to my home. Broad stripes on side of the thorax. Yellow costa (leading wing vein). Female moorland hawker dragonflies act dead when a pursing male can’t take the hint, according to new research. Not so with the moorland hawker dragonfly.
High in the Swiss Alps, the female moorland hawker dragonfly … The common hawker, moorland hawker or sedge darner (Aeshna juncea) is one of the larger species of hawker dragonflies.It is native to Palearctic (from Ireland to Japan) and northern North America.The flight period is from June to early October. While collecting their larvae in …
Aeshna juncea (Linnaeus, 1758) – common hawker, sedge darner, moorland hawker Aeshna mixta Latreille , 1805 – migrant hawker [4] Aeshna palmata Hagen, 1856 – paddle-tailed darner [7]