Aeshna, the hawkers or mosaic darners, is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae. Species within this genus are generally known as "hawkers" in the Old World, or "darners" in the New World.

Description

These are relatively large dragonflies; the European species measure 59–83mm body length. Their thoraces and abdomens are brown, with blue, green, or yellow stripes or spots on the thorax, and yellow, blue, or green spots on the abdomen; the size and shape of these spots is important in identification of the different species.

A study in 2003 demonstrated that the Holarctic and Neotropical species placed in this genus formed two clades that did not share a common ancestor, and proposed the latter be transferred to a separate genus Rhionaeschna.

The name Aeshna was coined by the Danish entomologist Fabricius in 1775, with the type species being the brown hawker Aeshna grandis. The name may have resulted from a printer's error in spelling the Greek Aechma, "a spear". The spelling "Aeschna" has been used intermittently, but was rejected by the ICZN in 1911 as an unjustified emendation of the original name Aeshna. However, derived genus names (such as Rhionaeschna) retain the 'sch' spelling, as this is how they were first cited.

Species

Many species formerly included in Aeshna have been split into other genera, including Afroaeschna, Andaeschna, Isoaeschna, Pinheyschna, Rhionaeschna, and Zosteraeschna. The former Aeshna isoceles is also split out, as Isoaeschna isoceles.

The genus Aeshna includes these species:

• Aeshna affinis – southern migrant hawker, blue-eyed hawker

• Aeshna annulata (Doubtful Species)

• Aeshna athalia

• Aeshna caerulea – azure hawker

• Aeshna canadensis – Canada darner

• Aeshna clepsydra – mottled darner

• Aeshna constricta – lance-tipped darner

• Aeshna crenata – Siberian hawker

• Aeshna cyanea – blue hawker, southern hawker

• Aeshna eremita – lake darner

• Aeshna frontalis

• Aeshna grandis – brown hawker

• Aeshna interrupta – variable darner

• Aeshna juncea – common hawker, sedge darner, moorland hawker

• Aeshna mixta – migrant hawker

• Aeshna palmata – paddle-tailed darner

• Aeshna persephone – Persephone's darner

• Aeshna petalura

• Aeshna septentrionalis – azure darner

• Aeshna serrata – Baltic hawker

• Aeshna shennong

• Aeshna sitchensis – zigzag darner

• Aeshna soneharai

• Aeshna subarctica – bog hawker, subarctic darner

• Aeshna tuberculifera – black-tipped darner

• Aeshna umbrosa – shadow darner

• Aeshna vercanica

• Aeshna verticalis – green-striped darner

• Aeshna viridis – green hawker

• Aeshna walkeri – Walker's darner

• Aeshna williamsoniana – Williamson's darner

Fossil species

Note that many fossil species in the genus were named at a time when many extant species now included in other genera were included in Aeshna. The list of valid fossil species is based on Nel et al. (2022), with species of uncertain validity noted:

• †Aeshna andancensis – Late Miocene (Turolian), France

• †Aeshna caseneuvensis Nel et al., 2022 – earliest Oligocene (Rupelian) of France

• †Aeshna cerdanica – Late Miocene (Vallesian), Spain

• ?†Aeshna dido (Aeshnidae incertae sedis) – Late Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany

• †Aeshna forficatum Li et al., 2011 – Middle Miocene, Shanwang Formation, China

• †Aeshna ghiandonii – Late Miocene (Messinian), Gessoso Formation, Italy

• ?†Aeshna heterofasciata (Anisoptera incertae sedis) – Early Oligocene, Salt Formation, Germany

• †Aeshna ignivora Zhang, 1989 – Middle Miocene, Shanwang Formation, China

• ?†Aeshna larvata (Anisoptera incertae sedis) – Late Eocene (Priabonian), Florissant Formation, Colorado

• †Aeshna messiniana – Late Miocene (Messinian), Gessoso Formation, Italy

• †Aeshna multicellulata – Late Miocene (Messinian), Gessoso Formation, Italy

• †Aeshna oligocenica – terminal Oligocene, Niveau du gypse d'Aix Formation, France

• †Aeshna ollivieri – Late Oligocene, Campagne-Calavon Formation, France

• ?†Aeshna paleocyanea (Aeshnidae incertae sedis) – Early Oligocene (Stampian), France

• †Aeshna shanwangensis Li et al., 2011 – Middle Miocene, Shanwang Formation, China

• †Aeshna solida – Late Eocene (Priabonian), Florissant Formation, Colorado

• †Aeshna stavropolensis Nel et al., 2005 – Middle Miocene of North Caucasus, Russia

• ?†Aeshna theobaldi (Aeshnidae incertae sedis) – Early Pleistocene (Villafranchian), France

• ?†Aeshna tyche (Aeshnidae incertae sedis) – Late Miocene (Sarmatian), Upper Freshwater-Molasse Formation, Germany

• †Aeshna voesendorfensis – Late Miocene (Messinian), Austria

• †Aeshna zlatkokvaceki Prokop et al., 2016 – Early Miocene of the Czech Republic

References

External links

• , BugGuide

• Corbet, P. S. 1999. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA, 829pp.

• von Ellenrieder, N., 2003. A synopsis of the Neotropical species of 'Aeshna' Fabricius: the genus Rhionaeschna Förster (Odonata: Aeshnidae). - Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 146 (1): 67-207.