A medium sized hawker flying in late summer to early autumn. Prior to the 1940s the Migrant Hawker was considered a rare resident and scarce immigrant species to southern England. Since then it has spread through England and Wales reaching Lancashire, Cheshire and Cornwall by the early 1990s. It was recorded in the Isle of Man in 1998. In southern England the species has benefited from the availability of flooded gravel pits such that it is now one of the commonest species. Large numbers are still considered to arrive from the continent in late summer.

This species may be confused with Aeshna juncea the Common Hawker however in the latter species the costa is yellow (as opposed to brown) and the male has long and narrow antehumeral stripes whereas in the Migrant Hawker they are much shorter. The male Hairy Dragonfly Brachytron pratense has similar blue spots on the abdomen but has a much earlier fight period.

KEY IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

• Both sexes have a yellow golf tee-shaped marking on dorsal surface of abdominal segment 2
• Short antehumeral stripes
• The sides of abdominal segment 2 are blue in mature males
• anal appendages in both sexes are very long
• costa is brown