Hairy Hawker (Brachytron pratense)
• English name: Hairy Hawker
• German name: Früher Schilfjäger
• French name: Aeschne printanière
• Dutch name: Glassnijder
• Swedish name: Tidig mosaikslända
• Norwegian name: Vårøyenstikker
• Finnish name: Karvaukonkorento
• Danish name: Håret mosaikguldsmed
• Italian name: Dragone peloso
• Czech name: šídlo luční
• Slovenian name: Zgodnji trstničar
• Bulgarian name: Пролетен пъстролет
Hairy Hawker
(Brachytron pratense)
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 which occurs mainly in central and eastern Europe; much rarer in the south and the far north | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Aeshnidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Brachytron pratense (Müller, 1764) | |
| Name genus | • Brachytron: from Grk. βραχύνω = to abbreviate +; ἦτρον = abdomen ⇒ in allusion to the abdomen being short and stout | |
| Name species | • pratense: from Lat. pratensis, -is, -e = found in meadows; [pratum = meadow] ⇒ for the supposed typical habitat of the species | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • still or slow-flowing waters with a rich vegetation | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 54-63 mm; hindwing: 34-37 mm | |
| Notes | • for a Hawker: medium-sized; about the same size as Aeshna caerulea, A. affinis, A. isoceles and A. mixta | |
| • typically one of the earliest-flying Hawkers | ||
| • 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 green (male) or yellow (female), with bold dark lines |
| Abdomen | ➤ S1 bears a single green or yellow dot, which sets the species apart from all other aeshnids | |
| Wings | ➤ the pterostigma is very long and thin | |
| Male | Thorax | • the top of the thorax is brown, with a green antehumeral stripe |
| Abdomen | • the top of the abdomen is black, with blue spots | |
| • the abdomen is not waisted (i.e. constricted) | ||
| Female | Thorax | • the top of the thorax is brown, with a heavily-reduced yellow antehumeral stripe |
| Abdomen | • the top of the abdomen is black, with small yellow spots | |
| Wings | • immature females may have orange-tinted wings | |
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in the Netherlands |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view, and the male's and female's head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view.
