Nature Notes

The first of the large hawker dragonflies are on the wing. The one most often seen is the brown hawker. It is easy to identify with its lacy orange wings and its dark brown body with a few noticeable blue spots. It has large eyes with which it seeks out tiny insects in the air just above it, then catches them in a basket formed by its spiny legs. It hunts until late in the evening when it swoops around street lamps picking up the insects that gather there. Another hawker that is now out and about is the common hawker. However, it is less common than the brown hawker. The males have a blackish body with blue spots, and look very dark. They are found mainly above boggy pools, hunting high in the air. A smaller, fatter dragonfly that sits on a leaf or a fence looking out for prey is the broad-bodied chaser, which has a blue body with yellow spots down the sides. It is a bully, often flying up and driving rival dragonflies away.