autumn meadowhawk

(Sympetrum vicinum)

Conservation Status
autumn meadowhawk
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Autumn meadowhawk is a small, slender, pale, 13 16 to 1 long meadowhawk.

Adult males have a red forehead. The lower part of the thorax is red. The abdomen is red with minimal black smudges on the lower sides. The legs are yellow to reddish-brown.

Juveniles have a tan to yellow forehead. The thorax is yellow to gray. The abdomen is yellowish brown. The legs are yellow or orangish-yellow.

Females are colored similar to the juveniles but eventually develop a red abdomen. There is a prominent, trumpet-shaped ovipositor on the bottom of abdominal segment 8.

The wings are clear with just a small tint of amber near the base.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Wingspan: 13 16 to

Total length: 1 to 1

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
  All other meadowhawks have black or black-striped legs.  
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Usually permanent, sometimes temporary marshes, ponds, bogs, lakes, slow streams.

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Late July to early November

This species has the latest flight period of any dragonfly in Minnesota.

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

After mating, the female, still attached to the male, lays eggs by dipping the tip of the abdomen in water. She will often alternately dip the tip of her abdomen in shallow water and then in mud. Eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring. The naiads emerge at night in August.

 
     
 

Naiad Food

 
 

Larvae of mosquitos and other aquatic insects, mayfly nymphs, freshwater shrimp, and very small fish and tadpoles.

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Small, soft-bodied flying insects, including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants and termites.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 17, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82.

 
  11/14/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common, often locally abundant

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)  
 

Suborder

Epiprocta  
  Infraorder Anisoptera (dragonflies)  
 

Superfamily

Libelluloidea  
 

Family

Libellulidae (skimmers)  
 

Genus

Sympetrum (meadowhawks)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Diplax vicina

 
       
 

Common Names

 
  autumn meadowhawk  
     
 

This species was formerly called yellow-legged meadowhawk, after the yellow legs of the juvenile. Mature adults have brown legs, a characteristic that still distinguishes them from all other meadowhawks. The name was recently changed to avoid confusion and misidentification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Alfredo Colon

 
    autumn meadowhawk      
           
    autumn meadowhawk   autumn meadowhawk  
           
    autumn meadowhawk   autumn meadowhawk  
           
    autumn meadowhawk   autumn meadowhawk  
           
    autumn meadowhawk   autumn meadowhawk  
 

Margot Avey

 
    autumn meadowhawk      
 

Wayne Rasmussen

 
 

Dragonfly

 
    autumn meadowhawk      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
    autumn meadowhawk   autumn meadowhawk  
           
    autumn meadowhawk   autumn meadowhawk  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Autumn Yellow Legged Meadowhawk
DianesDigitals
  Autumn Yellow Legged Meadowhawk  
 
About

Copyright DianesDigitals

Sympetrum vicinum

 
Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)
Andree Reno Sanborn
  Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)  
Autumn Meadowhawk
Victor Fazio
  Autumn Meadowhawk  

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  The Vicinum Waltz
Scott King
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 9, 2013

Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) ovipositing at Bass Lake at Maplewood State Park in Minnesota. The three steps are highlighted in the slow-motion clips. 1) Hover while female adds eggs to the drop of water at her abdomen tip 2) male-initiated dive and strike to the moss 3) female-intiated backward movement and dip into water for another drop of water. Filmed October 6, 2013.

 
  Dragonfly at The Bluffs - September 23, 2013
Don Gagnon
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 4, 2013

Is this an Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)? Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) Calls, The Bluffs, Pierce Beach, Somerset, Massachusetts, Monday midday, September 23, 2013, 10:58 AM / 11:02 AM / 11:05 AM - Canon PowerShot SX50 HS MVI_49087 / MVI_49098 / MVI_49109; 3:38 min.

 
  Autumn Meadowhawk
Meena Haribal
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Sep 1, 2011

Autumn Meadowhawk in Connecticut Hills state forest eating an insect.

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
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  Alfredo Colon
8/15/2022

Location: Albany, NY

autumn meadowhawk  
  Alfredo Colon
8/8/2022

Location: Albany, NY

autumn meadowhawk  
  Alfredo Colon
8/4/2022

Location: Albany, NY

autumn meadowhawk  
  Margot Avey
9/18/2020

Location: Westwood Nature Center

autumn meadowhawk  
  Alfredo Colon
10/16/2019

Location: Woodbury, MN

autumn meadowhawk  
  Wayne Rasmussen
8/19/2018

Location: Joy Park, Maplewood, MN

autumn meadowhawk  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

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