Blue-spotted hawker
species of insect
The blue-spotted hawker (Adversaeschna brevistyla) is the only known species of dragonfly of the genus Adversaeschna in the family Aeshnidae. They are also known as the Lancer Dragonfly. Their scientific name was formerly Aeschna brevistyla but was relatively recently changed to be Adversaeschna brevistyla
Appearance
The blue-spotted hawker is a large dragonfly with a pair of pale stripes on either side of the thorax. At the base of the thorax, they have two symmetrical bright-blue stripes. The fore-edges of the wings are a pale orange with the color ending at the pterostigma, which is a reddish-brown. Mature males have blue eyes whilst females have brown eyes.
Distribution and Habitat
The blue-spotted hawker is widespread across Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific Islands.
It may be found near ponds and marshes as well as vegetation far from water. It prefers still water but may also be found along calm streams.
Conservation Status
As of 2019, they were marked as least concern in their risk of being threatened.
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This entry incorporates text from “Blue-spotted hawker” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.