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Species account
Hairy Hawker
(Brachytron pratense)
Müller (1764)
Hawkers (Aeshnidae) [Dragonflies] HAHA 24796
Hawkers (Aeshnidae) [Dragonflies] HAHA 24796
Synonyms (common):
Hairy Dragonfly (gb) Spring Hawker (gb)
Synonyms (scientific):
Libellula hafniensis Müller, 1764
Libellula aspis Harris, 1780
Aeschna vernalis Vander Linden, 1820
Aeschna pilosa Charpentier, 1825
Libellula aspis Harris, 1780
Aeschna vernalis Vander Linden, 1820
Aeschna pilosa Charpentier, 1825
Measurements:
To 54-63mm Ab 37-46mm Hw 34-37mm
Generations:
Flight period:
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Identification:
As the name suggests, this hawker shows a larger amount of short hairs on both thorax and abdomen, unlike the other hawkers seen in Denmark (adaptation to flying early in colder weather, likely). Also has a unique yellow spot on top of S1.
Males: Blue spots on the abdomen, long well-marked yellow shoulder stripes. Upper appendages slightly curved at the end.
Females/immatures: Greenish spots on abdomen. Yellow shoulder stripes just small dots.
Males: Blue spots on the abdomen, long well-marked yellow shoulder stripes. Upper appendages slightly curved at the end.
Females/immatures: Greenish spots on abdomen. Yellow shoulder stripes just small dots.
Similar species:
Life stages:
After the mating, which takes place in trees or bushes, the solo female inserts the eggs mainly in dead floating plant material, but sometimes into living plants as well, as reeds. The eggs hatch after 3-4 weeks. The larvae live in-between water plants and develop during 2 years. The imago-transformation takes place near or up to a meter from the waters edge.
Distribution:
Most of Europe; absent most of Iberian peninsula, Scotland and northern parts of Fennoscandinavia. Also present in Turkey, Ukraine, European Russia and Iran. In Denmark seen in all regions and most islands.
Habitat:
Behavior:
-Like to perch low in long-grassed vegetation.
-The larva uses a play-dead-behavior when being threatened.
-The larva uses a play-dead-behavior when being threatened.
Status
(?):NE: Not evaluated
NA: Not applicable
DD: Data deficient
LC: Least concern
NT: Near threatened
VU: Vulnerable
EN: Endangered
CR: Critically endangered
EW: Extinct in the wild
EX: Extinct
LX: Locally extinct
NA: Not applicable
DD: Data deficient
LC: Least concern
NT: Near threatened
VU: Vulnerable
EN: Endangered
CR: Critically endangered
EW: Extinct in the wild
EX: Extinct
LX: Locally extinct
LC(global) LC(eu) LC(dk). Stable and common in Denmark and apparently spreading.
Comment:
One of the first hawkers to fly in the season in Denmark.
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484
(2 photos)
2021-05-28 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Male Pinseskoven. The first hawker of the year. Just this one animal present. Lifer. |
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492
(1 photos)
2021-05-30 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Male Strong yellow shoulder stripes and the blue spots on the abdomen indicate the species. |
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665
(3 photos)
2022-05-22 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Male Flying earlier and in larger numbers than last year. |
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678
(3 photos)
2022-05-23 Kongelunden, Denmark Imago Male Still the only hawker to fly this season. |
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1650
(1 photos)
2023-05-18 Søholt Storskov (Maribo), Denmark Imago Male |
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1649
(1 photos)
2023-05-18 Søholt Storskov (Maribo), Denmark Imago Male |
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1470
(1 photos)
2023-06-04 Kroglyng (midtsjælland), Denmark Imago Male |
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1591
(1 photos)
2023-06-07 Hästenäs Kyrkskog (Östergötland), Sweden Imago Male |
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1703
(1 photos)
2023-06-24 Herlufsholm Kostskole, Denmark Imago Male Susåen ved Herlufsholm. Slowly reaching the peak of the flying period for this species. I've seen more than the years before. |
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2782
(2 photos)
2024-05-11 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Male Bagstien, Pinseskoven. First of the year. They like to sit in the tall grass to warm up, and can be approached relatively easy. |
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3143
(5 photos)
2025-05-08 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Male Fonscolombii-lysningen. I have to continue to practice my net-abilities. Also to make sure the animals are affected as little as possible. Learning which animals are realistic candidates for a capture and which not. It's definitely easier when they are perched, and preferibly low. Trying to catch them when they're already flushed from the ground or bushes is almost impossible. This one was very energetic, and kept basking the wings in the net, and when I tried to grab it at first it even bid me! You wouldn't call it hurtful, but still a strong enough bite to get very surprised when it happens. A fierceful one. The photos are bad, I know. A wide-angle, handheld with one hand and no support. Using autofocus was the only option to try to get the right focus - will need a proper setup when I get to the real deal one day. But at least you can see why the species is called Hairy. I guess all dragonflies have hairs on the body, why it might be a meaningless name to give a single species, but still the amount on the abdomen is significant enough (here) to justify the name. And probably in good use now, the hairs, with clear sky in the night and still a cold northern sweeping over the country. Pellets coming out of S10. No photos after the release, but it took off fine and flew very far indeed to avoid such an experience again. Hands on Captured |
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493
(3 photos BOTH SIDES)
2021-05-30 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Female |
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666
(4 photos)
2022-05-22 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Imago Female |
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677
(1 photos)
2022-05-23 Kongelunden, Denmark Imago Female Typical example with very restricted shoulder stripes and very long appendages. The name-giving hairy thorax also very obvious. |
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723
(2 photos)
2022-06-05 Søholt Storskov (Maribo), Denmark Imago Female |
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713
(2 photos)
2022-06-05 Søholt Storskov (Maribo), Denmark Imago Male & Female Mating wheel. |
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3190
(10 photos)
2025-05-26 Store Hareskov (nordsjælland), Denmark Exuvia Male Jagtvejssøen-vest. Found 60 cm above the water in a patch of cattails. Flat mask; Small widely separated eyes; Size. Male without any structures underneath S9. Exuvia |
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3189
(8 photos)
2025-05-26 Store Hareskov (nordsjælland), Denmark Exuvia Female Jagtvejssøen-vest. Found 60 cm above the water in a patch of cattails. Flat mask; Small widely separated eyes; Size. I used the key by Ole Fogh Nielsen (98) to identify this exuvia. Unfortunately it lead me to choose between two unlikely candidates, A. juncea and A. subarctica. When this happens, you have to use common sense and look around you to see, which species are actually present here and now. And only two hawker species were realistic: the present species and Green-eyed Hawker (I. isoceles). And then I doubled back two where both of them were still in play, and had to realize that my judgment of the eye shape must have been (and probably still is) wrong. I still see the eyes as having a continuation downward toward the center, and not just as simply small isolated round eyes. But this must be the case, and I have to learn to pay attention to this level of detail. Fine. The rest of the exuvia matches fine with this species, and comparing with photos from a Polish site, the dark color is also in support of pratense. It is possible to sex it because of the subgenital plate found underneath S9 showing two short fork-like spikes. Exuvia |