Brown hawker
| Brown hawker | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Family: | Aeshnidae |
| Genus: | Aeshna |
| Species: | A. grandis
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| Binomial name | |
| Aeshna grandis | |
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| Range of Aeshna grandis | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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_female_ovipositing.jpg)
The brown hawker (Aeshna grandis) is a species of large Palearctic dragonfly belonging to the family Aeshnidae, the hawkers. This species is found in Europe and temperate Asia, except the far east of Asia.
Taxonomy
[edit]The brown hawker was first formally described as Libellula grandis by Carl Linnaeus in the 10 edition of Systema Naturae published in 1758. It is now classified in the genus Aeshna in the family Aeshnidae, the hawkers, in the order Odonata, teh dragonflies and damselflies.[1] This species is the type species of the genus Aeshna.[3]
Description
[edit]The brown hawker is a large dragonfly with a body length of 73 mm (2.9 in). The body is brown marked with yellow stripes in the thorax and the wings are tinged brown. The males have small markings of blue and yellow and are noticeable waisted, the females a=have small yellow marking. The nymphs are long and streamlined, 40–46 mm (1.6–1.8 in) in length, with banded legs, stripes on the head and thorax, a wide facial mask and a spine on each side of abdominal segment 6.[4]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]The brown hawker is found from southern Great Britain and Ireland east through Europe, including much of Fenno-Scandia into Asia. It is most abundant in central, eastern and northern Europe and extends as far east as the Sakha Republic in Siberia, it is absent from the Scotland, northern Scandinavia and much of southern Europe. In the north, brown hawkers prefer slow-flowing or standing waters including natural waters such as large pools, lakes, fens and oxbows, as well as man-made waterbodies such as canals, ponds, ditches, reservoirs and peat diggings, it is closley tied to forest or woodland. In the south it is less catholic in its choice of habitats and prefers mature habitats and avoid early succesional habitats.[1]
Behaviour
[edit]he brown hawker lays its eggs in floating or emergent vegetation or timber in standing or slow moving water. It does not typically hunt near water and can be observed haking in woodland rides late into summer evenings. In Great Britian the main fligh period of the brown hawker is between May and September,[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Clausnitzer, V. (2020). "Aeshna grandis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T158686A138480251. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T158686A138480251.en. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "World Odonata List". Odonata Central. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ Miloš Jović; Mihaljo Stanković; Ljiljana Anđus (2010). "Ashnae grandis A new species in Serbian fauna (Odonata:Aeshnidae)". Bulletin of the Natural Histrory Museum. 2010 (3): 137–140.
- ^ a b "Brown hawker". British Dragonfly Society. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Aeshna grandis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Aeshna grandis at Wikispecies
