Bog Hawker
(Aeshna subarctica)

The Bog Hawker (Aeshna subarctica) looks very similar indeed to the much more widespread Moorland Hawker (Aeshna juncea). It may tend to be slightly the smaller of the two species, its coloration may typically be a bit paler, and its costa (that is, the leading edge of the wing) may tend to be brown rather than yellow, but none of these differences are 100% reliable or very useful in the field. Much more diagnostic, if you're lucky enough to get a close-up, are the absence of a yellow spot right behind the eye (i.e. Aeshna juncea has such a yellow spot while A. subarctica doesn't), and the width of the line which runs across the face, which narrows at the base in A. juncea but not in A. subarctica. Aeshna subarctica has a limited range and only occurs in bogs and moorlands in the North-East of Europe and in similar habitats at altitude in Central Europe. Our only photographs of the species to date were made in a moorland area in the South of Germany and show an ovipositing female laying her eggs - typically - on floating peatmoss.

For an overview of the Bog Hawker's distribution in Europe, hover your mouse pointer over the map symbol .
With the authors' permission we have based this map on data published in Kalkman et al. (2010).
Legend: Red = Occurs, White = Doesn't occur; Purple = Extinct; Yellow = Vagrant.

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