Aeshna mixta (Migrant Hawker) is a small hawker about the same size as Aeshna affinis (Blue-eyed Hawker) but it’s much darker in colour so there’s little confusion. Males have a black abdomen with small blue markings, female a brown abdomen with mostly yellow markings. Diagnostic for Migrant Hawkers is the yellow ‘spike’ on the second abdominal segment.
As indicated by the vernacular name, Migrant Hawkers show nomadic behaviour. They’re most common around the Mediterranean and Central Europe but reach the Baltic in warm years. In Western Europe they’ve become much more common in the last decades, benefiting from global warming.
in and around Europe
