black meadowhawk

Black meadowhawk is a small, dark, northern dragonfly. It occurs throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States it occurs in the east from Maine west to North Dakota and Iowa. In the west it occurs from Washington to Montana, and south along the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains to central California and northern New Mexico. It also occurs throughout most of Canada and in Alaska.

Black meadowhawk adults are active from mid-July to late September. They are found in marshes, fens, bogs, and peatlands, on and near ponds and small pools, and at the borders of shallow lakes. They feed on small, soft-bodied, flying insects. The young (naiads) are aquatic. They feed in water on small, soft-bodied arthropods and vertebrates.

Adults are 1 3⁄16″ to 1⅜″ (30 to 35 mm) in length and have a 1¾″ to 2 3⁄16″ (45 to 55 mm) wingspan.

On the male, the head, thorax, and abdomen are dark brown to black (dark). The face is entirely dark, a characteristic shared by no other meadowhawk. There are two large compound eyes and three small simple eyes (ocelli). The compound eyes are dark, and they meet at the top of the head. The upperside of the thorax is dark and very fuzzy. There are yellow markings on the top and sides, but these darken with age and are sometimes not discernible. The abdomen is dark with no red markings, another characteristic unique to this meadowhawk. When young (juvenile), the abdomen is yellow with a black stripe on each side. It quickly darkens, leaving a pair of yellow spots on each segment. The spots soon fade from front to rear, and the spots on segment 8 last the longest. The wings are clear. The opaque cell (stigma) on the leading edge (costal margin) is black. The vein on the leading edge (costal vein) is yellow in juveniles, but this quickly darkens with age. The base of the hindwings is very broad. There is sometimes a small amber patch at the bases of one or both pairs of wings. The legs are black.

On the female, the compound eyes are reddish brown above and olive green below. They do not meet but are very narrowly separated at the top of the head. The face is yellow. The upperside of the thorax is not fuzzy and there are two yellow stripes. The sides of the thorax are yellow with a dark “ladder-like” or “chain-like” marking that encloses three small yellow spots. The abdomen is dark with a pair of triangular yellow spots on each segment. The ovipositor near the end of the abdomen is “spout-like” or “scoop like”. There may be a small yellow patch near the base of each wing.

Total length: 1 3⁄16″ to 1⅜″ (30 to 35 mm)

Wingspan: 1¾″ to 2 3⁄16″ (45 to 55 mm)

Marshes, fens, bogs, and peatlands

One generation per year: Mid-July to late September

After mating, the female lays her eggs. She may do this while flying and still attached to the male (in tandem), tapping the surface of water, moss, or mud with the tip of her abdomen repeatedly for 2 or 3 minutes. She may also drop the eggs from the air onto water, moss, or mud. Or she may lay the eggs while perched on mud.

The eggs hatch in the spring. The naiads take 2 to 3 months to mature. They emerge as adults in July and August.

Small, soft-bodied arthropods and vertebrates

Small, soft-bodied, flying insects

Sources

17, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Common and widespread

Found this dragonfly caught struggling in a cob web. After rinsing in fresh water, very carefully pulling the sticky web off wings and legs. It napped. Then flew away.

Black Darter Dragonfly (Sympetrum danae)
New Forest Dragonflies

Black Meadowhawk (Libellulidae: Sympetrum danae) Immature Male
Carl Barrentine

Black darter - Sympetrum danae
makroskooppi

Sympetrum danae BLACK MEADOWHAWK oviposits while mating 3024667
Rob Curtis

Luciearl
9/3/2024

Location: Lake Shore, MN

Same rescued dragonfly

Luciearl
8/31/2024

Location: Lake Shore, MN

Found this dragonfly caught struggling in a cob web. After rinsing in fresh water, very carefully pulling the sticky web off wings and legs. It napped. Then flew away.