Bog hawker
Aeshna subarctica Walker, 1908
Aeschna subarctica Walker, 1908: Beschovski, 1960: 452.
Order Dragonflies (Odonata)
Family Hawkers dragonflies (Aeshnidae)
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Extinct EX.
General distribution. Northern Europe (mainly in the Scandinavian Peninsula and Denmark), Central Europe (peat water bodies in the Alps and other mountains), Northern Asia in the east to Japan (Hokkaido), North America (in the south to New Jersey).
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. Known from Bulgaria only by one female from Belichki Mochuri Bog in Rila Mts., collected on 17 August 1954 [1]. It is not known what its abundance in Bulgaria was.
Habitats. Marshes, bogs and peatbogs.
Biology. In Bulgaria unknown. In other parts of the range, it has a high affinity to peat water bodies with a domination of mosses of the genera Sphagnum and Drepanocladus [2]. It prefers water bodies with areas of over 1 da [3]. The male usually flies low over the water surface that is appropriate for the development of the nymph, driving away specimens of the same species or looking for mature females. During the mating, the couple perches on the branches of the neighbouring shrubs, where it stays for about an hour [2]. The female lays perched on vegetation parts or remnants over the water surface. In some cases, a depth of about 1-2 cm among the stems of the bog moss is enough for it [3].
Similar species. Aeshna juncea, from which it differs in width of the transverse stripe of the face and in size of the blue spots on the abdomen of the adult.
Negative factors. Unknown for Bulgaria.
Conservation measures taken. None.
References. 1. Beschovski, 1960; 2. Wildermuth et al., 2005; 3. Sternberg & Buchwald, 2000.
Author: Alexi Popov
