Here Be Dragons

I finally got my first picture of a dragonfly in the garden on Tuesday; it's a Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta). She was hunting along the edge of the hedges near our herb bed, probably in pursuit of one of the zillion hoverflies or bees currently visiting the fennel and thyme flowers. Periodically, though, she'd hang up on a bit of vegetation (or, once, on one of our patio chairs) for a bit of a rest. I know it's a "she" because she only has two, rather than three, appendages at the end of her abdomen; a male would have a third, shorter appendage between the two longer ones. She's probably newly emerged, as older females have yellow rather than white markings on their brown bodies. The combination of the pale "flat-headed nail" shape at the top of the abdomen and the dark band above it is a useful ID feature.

Migrant Hawkers are common and widespread on the continent, ranging over most of Europe all the way east to Japan. In Britain, they're common in southern and central England and Wales, flying from late July well into the autumn. They quite the aerialists — among the fastest-flying of Britain's dragonflies, and capable of hovering and flying backwards. In general, they hunt above 2 meters (6-7 feet) off the ground, often along the edges of trees, catching their insect prey in flight. They breed in still or slow-moving water but range far from their breeding areas while hunting, as this one clearly did. Hopefully, she found the buffet to her liking and will be back!