White-faced Meadowhawk

When I think of hawks, I think of these:

Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk

This summer, I started noticing dragonflies and discovered that there are other “hawks.”

Eastern Pondhawk
White-faced Meadowhawk

The White-faced Meadowhawk is less than 1.5 inches long.

 Meadowhawks are often found well away from water even though it is a necessary part of the insects’ life cycle.

They do require water for egg laying and embryo development, as well as the larval stage of life.

Like all dragonflies, meadowhawks are voracious eaters, catching prey on the wing with a reportedly 95% accuracy rate.

 This little dragonfly in particular fills an ecological niche by hunting in fields where other, larger dragonfly competitors are absent.

White-faced meadowhawks are found in the northern US and southern Canada, and are active from July through October.

Miles Hearn

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