Isoaeschna isoceles (Green-eyed Hawker, formerly Aeshna isoceles) is a small hawker that can be found on the wing as early as May, much earlier than most other hawkers. Like Brown Hawker (A. grandis) it has a brown body but the wings are clear and colourless, the eyes are green instead of blue and there’s a diagnostic yellow triangular mark on the second abdominal segment.
Green-eyed Hawkers can be found in most European countries but are most common in Central Europe and around the Mediterranean.
Variation: Around Greece and Turkey, Green-eyed Hawkers tend to have prominent antehumeral stripes. Populations with this characteristic have been described as subspecies antehumeralis but the taxonomic status of this subspecies is subject to debate. An example of such an individual from Turkey is included in the photo gallery below.
For a long time there has been debate about taxonomy and spelling of the scientific species name of Green-eyed Hawkers as well: the official name was Aeshna isoceles but variations included Anaciaeschna isosceles and Aeshna isosceles (which would’ve been the correct spelling). Recent DNA comparison has shown that the species doesn’t fit well in any of the previously existing genera and a new genus was named to solve this problem: Isoaeschna.
in and around Europe
