Friday 3 October 2014

Hawker ID Challenge!

I made a visit over to Nethergong Campsite this afternoon where after speaking to the owners I drove around to the small pool which has been very good for dragonflies this year. It was only a few weeks ago that I was here with the family and they were happily pond dipping and catching lots of dragonfly larvae so I thought I would take along the camera gear and see if I could catch any and get a few photos. After setting up I started dipping the net and it wasn't long until I started to catch a few 'Hawker' larvae, their torpedo shape being the main give away. I caught a few of different sizes and after putting them in some clear pots I set about trying to id them and get a few photos. I am quite new to this sort of identification and a lot of Hawker larvae look very similar. I have seen Migrant, Southern, Brown and Emperor around this pool this year so it must be one of them. After looking at a few books and photos I think the shots below may be of a Brown Hawker? One diagnostic feature they show is banding on the legs which this shows quite well in the photos but I would appreciate any help with them and please correct me if I am wrong.



Migrant Hawker Larvae

After taking more shots I looked what else I had in the tank and noticed a smaller, leaner and darker Hawker larvae. Again I took a few shots and believe this may be a Hairy Dragonfly, a species I did not see here this year as my visits didn't start until their season was over. The eyes are considerably smaller, again a feature I believe of Hairy. I took a few shots before putting them back in the tank.


Hairy Dragonfly Larvae

I spent the next hour with my plastic tank and a few larvae in there trying to get some shots of them in the water. A few sticks attracted them and I took a number of shots, some not too bad. I will have to invest in some proper gear for this type of photography but it was fun trying anyway and a good education into trying to id these tricky larvae. It was certainly interesting watching them in the water and noting their behaviour when they met each other sometimes. I shall post some shots in the tank tomorrow. Again if I have not correctly identified them, please feel free to point me in the right direction. Many thanks to Greenie for helping with the id of the Migrant Hawker larvae.

6 comments:

  1. Marc ,
    I would agree with your Hairy Dragonfly ID , the small eyes , less than half the length of the head says yes for me . It should
    also have a dorsal spine on abdominal segment 9 .
    The other one I would say is Migrant Hawker . I can see where you are coming from with the banded legs , but looking at
    specimens in my collection , the BH's legs are more boldly banded . The deal sealer for me is the lateral spines on abdominal
    segment 9 , which reaches the start of segment 10 . The same spines on the BH only reach half way down to the start of 10 .
    Not showing in the shots , the labium , the tooth shaped hinged flap , on the underside of the head , used to grab prey in
    flight , would be wide on the BH and narrow on the MH .
    Nice clear shots .

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    Replies
    1. Greenie
      Many thanks for your help. Greatly appreciated, you know your stuff.

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    2. Emperor Dragonfly has been mentioned. The huge rounded head and less bulbous eyes. What do you think?

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    3. Marc ,
      I must bow to the Emperor Dragonfly ID .
      The lateral spines that led me to MH still stand , but the area behind the eye being parallel
      to the back of the head , I should have noticed .

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  2. The larvae are superb Marc, you know your camera.

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  3. Nice shots. Ill have to make an effort to go find some hairy dragonfly nymphs myself :)

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