Migrant Hawker - Sandy Robertson
Latin name: Aeshna mixta
The migrant hawker is a medium-sized hawker dragonfly which is on the wing from the end of July through to October, or even November in warm years. It is a very common species during the late summer and autumn, when it can be found hunting in gardens, grassland and woodland some distance from its breeding ponds. It has a powerful flight and shows extreme manoeuvrability. The male is brown with blue markings, whilst the female is brown with yellow markings. The Migrant Hawker also has a prominent yellow wine glass shaped marking at the front of the abdomen. Although first observed on Alderney around 1900 it was seldom recorded until 2005. Now it occurs regularly, sometimes in big numbers, and can be seen laying its eggs at Mannez and Longis ponds and patrolling paths in gardens.