Aeshna affinis
• English name: Blue-Eyed Hawker
• German name: Südliche Mosaikjungfer
• French name: Aeschne affine
• Dutch name: Zuidelijke glazenmaker
• Swedish name: Klarblå mosaikslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Hohtoukonkorento
• Danish name: Sydlig mosaikguldsmed
• Italian name: Dragone occhiblu
• Czech name: šídlo rákosní
• Slovenian name: Višnjeva deva
• Bulgarian name: Жълтогръд пъстролет
Aeshna affinis
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a large species of southern and central Europe | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Aeshnidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Aeshna affinis Vander Linden, 1820 | |
| Name genus | • Aeshna: of uncertain origin | |
| Name species | • affinis: from Lat. affinis, -is, -e = similar, adjacent, akin ⇒ for its similarity to A. mixta | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • shallow lakes and wetlands which dry up in the course of summer | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 57-66 mm; hindwing: 37-42 mm | |
| Notes | • for a Hawker: medium-sized; about the same size as A. caerulea, A. isoceles, A. mixta and Brachytron pratense | |
| • oviposits in tandem, typically in the shade, in wet mud or dead vegetation | ||
| • males often hover in flight | ||
| • aeshnids are 'fliers': they spend a lot of time on the wing and seldom hang up for a rest | ||
| Both sexes | Thorax | ➤ the side of the thorax is yellow with thin black lines |
| Male | Head | ➤ the eyes are bright blue |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is black with blue spots dorsally (in immature males: brown with yellow spots) | |
| • S2 bears a blue T-shaped mark (in immature males: a yellow T-shaped mark) | ||
| Female | Abdomen | • the abdomen is brown with yellow spots dorsally |
| • S2 bears a yellow T-shaped mark | ||
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in the south of Italy |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view.
