About Aeshna grandis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The brown hawker (Aeshna grandis) is a large dragonfly that reaches a body length of 73 mm (2.9 in). Its body is mostly brown, with yellow stripes on the thorax, and its wings have a brown tinge. Males have small blue and yellow markings and a distinctly waisted body shape, while females only have small yellow markings. Nymphs of this species are long and streamlined, measuring 40–46 mm (1.6–1.8 in) in length. They have banded legs, stripes on the head and thorax, a wide facial mask, and one spine on each side of the sixth abdominal segment.
This dragonfly ranges from southern Great Britain and Ireland eastward across Europe, including most of Fennoscandia, and extends into Asia. It is most abundant in central, eastern, and northern Europe, and reaches as far east as the Sakha Republic in Siberia. It is not found in Scotland, northern Scandinavia, or most of southern Europe.
In the northern part of its range, brown hawkers favor slow-flowing or standing waterbodies. These include natural waterbodies such as large pools, lakes, fens, and oxbows, as well as man-made waterbodies like canals, ponds, ditches, reservoirs, and peat diggings. The species is closely associated with forest or woodland. In the southern part of its range, it has narrower habitat preferences, favoring mature habitats and avoiding early successional habitats.
