The blue hawker is one of the most common and most widespread dragonflies in Central Europe.
The blue hawker is brightly colored and can reach a body length of about 7 cm, and a wingspan of up to 11 cm. Males have a dark abdomen with apple green spots on the topside of segments 1-7 and blue spots on the sides of segments 8-10. The abdomen of females is brownish with bright green markings.
The blue hawker is found from mid-summer to autumn patrolling its territory. It can be curious of people and will fly up close to inspect the ‘intruder’ before carrying on its patrol. This was the case when I captured the specimen in my photograph.
To capture dragonflies in flight is a huge photography challenge. Most of them are unreliable, drunken flyers, changing direction and altitude very quickly. But some hover — and that is the photographer’s moment.