Fun Southern Hawker Facts For Kids

The southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea) is a colorful dragonfly native to Europe. It is scientifically known as the Aeshna cyanea. The southern hawker is also called the blue hawker. The male and the female of the hawker dragonfly can be differentiated by observing their green spots. This dragonfly is one of the most widespread dragonflies in the whole of Europe. Males are known to patrol their territories to keep at bay the rival males. These creatures are very inquisitive by nature. They are known to hover close to people's faces. They do this to get a closer look. The thorax of the creatures is brown. Females lay their eggs skillfully. It is pretty difficult to follow them when they do so. These creatures prefer non-acidic waters to dwell upon. The dragonfly is essentially a predator. The dragonfly larva is a secondary consumer. A group of these creatures is called a swarm. Sometimes, the group is also called flight and cluster. These are also called Darners. It is very difficult to singularly trace out a darner. They rarely come to rest. The name literally means to hunt on the wing. These creatures can hover both backward and forward in the air. There are about 30 different species of dragonflies in the United Kingdom.

Like reading this article? Want to know more about these creatures? Let's move on. If you like reading about this insect, you may also like reading about the hairy dragonfly and the dragonfly.

What type of animal is a southern hawker?

The southern hawker is a dragonfly belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera, and species A. cyanea.

What class of animal does a southern hawker belong to?

The hawker dragonfly belongs to the class Insecta, that is, it is an insect.

How many southern hawkers are there in the world?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the exact number of mature individuals is not known. However, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the population trend reflects an increase in the population.

Where does a southern hawker live?

The hawker dragonfly is found in many countries of Europe. It is common in England and Wales. A vagrant population is sometimes seen in Scotland.

What is a southern hawker's habitat?

The hawker dragonfly is found in small ponds, woodlands, garden ponds, heathland, and moorland.

Who does southern hawker live with?

These creatures may be seen in small groups. They may also be seen as solitary. They are often seen patrolling their territories or breeding areas.

How long does a southern hawker live?

The hawker aeshna lives for a timeframe of around six weeks.

How do they reproduce?

In the months between June and October, males get aggressive and territorial. They defend their breeding grounds from intruders. Once mating takes place successfully, females lay their eggs on the edge of water bodies. These water bodies could have still or slow-flowing water. These are often situated amongst rotten wood and other types of vegetation. When the egg hatches, nymphs come out. It takes two to three years for the young ones to develop into adult creatures. After, this two or year timeframe, the nymphs climb out of the water bodies and shed their skin. The wings and the final color are obtained as a result of this. This process occurs between June to the end of July.

What is their conservation status?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the status of this dragonfly is Least Concern.

What do southern hawkers look like?

This hawker is large in size. The male is black in color. The male has large spots of apple green in color on the abdomen. There are blue markings on the last two of the segments. These are also present on the side of the abdomen. The sides of the thorax are bright green in color. The face is the same. The creature has blue eyes. Females look a bit different. Females have markings that are pale green in color. Females also have markings that are blue in color. The southern hawker egg-laying female is duller than the male. The wings are 4.3 in (110 mm) in length.

How cute are they?

The blue cyanea with their colorful bodies are pretty cute. The larva of the blue cyanea is also cute.

How do they communicate?

Dragonflies use an array of colors to communicate with others of the species. They use their blue, green, purple, and bronze colors to send signals to others of the species. These color messages can also be used to warn off potential predators, like birds. They surely have an interesting way of communicating with each other.

How big is a southern hawker?

The southern hawker is 2.8 in (70 mm) in length. This blue cyanea is smaller than the giant darner dragonfly.

How fast can a southern hawker move?

The hawker dragonflies can move at speeds of 25-30 mph (40-48 kph). These blue hawkers are fast fliers and are known to catch their prey mid-flight.

How much does a southern hawker weigh?

The exact information is not available for the species.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Both the male and female southern hawkers are called dragonflies or southern hawkers. They do not have any such sex-specific names to describe them.

What would you call a baby southern hawker?

A baby southern hawker is called a nymph. It may also be called a larva.

What do they eat?

The southern hawker larvae are carnivorous like the adults. The adults mainly feed on insects. The larvae feed on small tadpoles, aquatic insects, small fish, and invertebrates.

Are they poisonous?

Unlike wasps, dragonflies do not sting or bite humans. They are not known to be poisonous. Even if they bite, they would do so if they feel threatened. The bite is not enough to break human skin.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, they would make good pets. However, it is rare for people to keep dragonflies as pets. With their foraging habits and environmental requirements, it would not be easy to keep these as pets.

Did you know...

Southern hawkers can fly at low altitudes. This makes them an easy target for cats.

The southern hawker exuvia provides important information on this species.

Dragonflies have an unusual vision. They have 360-degree vision. There is one blind spot at the back. This feature helps them to spot a single insect and go after it without hindrance.

In the insect food chain, dragonflies are at the top. A blue Dasher dragonfly can be said to be a friendly pet.

These creatures are said to have roamed the earth for over 300 million years. In contrast, human beings have roamed across the earth for 2.8 million years.

The damselflies are close relatives of the dragonflies. Dragonflies are sun-loving insects.

Dragonflies are often considered to be indicators of good quality freshwater bodies. These creatures are important members of the freshwater ecosystems in the world. They manage the populations of smaller insects like mosquitoes. They also provide food for the birds like the kingfishers.

Damselflies keep their wings closed around their bodies. However, in contrast, the dragonflies keep their wings wide open.

How many eggs do southern hawkers lay?

The exact information on the number of eggs is not available for this hawker.

Southern hawker vs migrant hawker?

The migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta) is smaller in size than the common hawker or the southern hawker. The southern hawker can be differentiated from the other hawker species by the two markings on the thorax. These appear to imitate a 'head-light'. They also have paired spots on the last two abdominal segments that are merging.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these familiar bluet facts and mayfly facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable southern hawker coloring pages.