Ode-vent Day 11

And so we move on to the true dragonflies, starting with the genus Aeshna, or hawkers.  At least eight species regularly occur in Belgium of which the Migrant Hawker, Aeshna mixta, is probably the most common, especially in September.  Most hawkers can be identified by the mosaic pattern of predominantly blue and green spots along the abdomen, in combination with eye colour, and the presence or otherwise of coloured stripes on the side of the thorax.