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Pond and stream · Dragonflies, damselflies and mayflies
Southern hawker
Aeshna cyanea
A large, dark dragonfly spotted with apple green, with blue marks towards the tail in the male.
Size About 7cm long, wingspan 10cm
Look for it June to October
Where Garden ponds, woodland pools and sheltered paths, mainly in England and Wales
I've seen one: add to my list My spotter's list
Hunts back and forth after you, hovering to look. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the dragonfly
Curious It comes to look at you Southern hawkers often fly right up to a person, hover for a second, and fly on.
Eyes Almost all eyes Its two huge eyes meet on top of its head and contain tens of thousands of tiny lenses.
Flight Four wings, four ways Each wing moves on its own, so it can hover, fly backwards and turn on the spot.
Young Years under water The young, called nymphs, live in the pond for two or three years, hunting tadpoles and other insects.
Jaw A jaw that shoots out The nymph has a hinged lower lip with hooks that fires forward to grab its prey.
Old Older than dinosaurs Dragonflies were flying 300 million years ago. Some then had wings as wide as a crow's.
The real thing
Photos of the dragonfly
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and about How to spot one Stand by a pond on a warm afternoon in August. Look for a big dragonfly patrolling at about head height, turning at the same spots. Take an adult with you.
Lend a hand How to help The empty skin left on a reed after a dragonfly hatches is called an exuvia. Finding one tells you your pond is working.
Following you Ladybird Change bug
Who should follow you? ×
Garden Meadow Pond Log pile After dark
These live somewhere else: choosing one takes you to their page.
The garden
Ladybird Walks after you, and flies when you get well ahead Bumblebee Buzzes along behind you and hovers when you stop Red-tailed bee Hums after you, bobbing as it goes Honeybee Flies after you, then waggles when it stops Hoverfly Darts after you and hangs dead still in the air Ants March after you in a line Snail Glides after you, leaving a trail Garden spider Lowers itself on a thread of silk
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Meadow and hedgerow
Peacock Flutters after you and basks with its wings open Red admiral Glides after you in strong, fast swoops Brimstone Flies after you without stopping for long Orange-tip Flutters after you along the hedge Meadow brown Bobs after you, low over the grass Hummingbird hawk-moth Hovers after you, tongue out Grasshopper Hops after you in long jumps Bush-cricket Hops after you, antennae waving
Pond and stream
Dragonfly Hunts back and forth after you, hovering to look Damselfly Flutters after you like a butterfly Pond skater Skates after you in quick strokes Whirligig beetles Whirl after you in a spinning group Diving beetle Swims after you, diving and bobbing up Mayflies Dance after you, up and down over the water
These live somewhere else: choosing one takes you to their page.
The log pile
Stag beetle Walks after you, and takes off with a whirr Ground beetle Sprints after you in bursts Woodlouse Trundles after you, and rolls up if you rush it Centipede Races after you on fifteen pairs of legs Millipede Flows after you on a wave of legs Earthworm Wriggles after you, stretching and shrinking
These live somewhere else: choosing one takes you to their page.
After dark
Glow-worm Crawls after you, leaving a glowing trail Moths Circle your lamp, bumping into the light Elephant hawk-moth Circles your lamp at dusk Leopard slug Glides after you, slowly, on a ribbon of slime
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