Flight season: the last odonate of the season this area.
Adults start to appear in late July, and the last fliers can persist into mid-November if the weather permits.
Population: common. Look for this dragonfly near ponds, marshes, lakes and slow flowing stretches of rivers.
Often forages a fair distance from water.
Length: about 30 mm.
The average Autumn Meadowhawk is smaller and more gracile than other local Sympetrum species.
The legs help separate this dragonfly from its relatives – they are yellow, or brown in older individuals, but never black.
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Tweed, Ontario, the Moira River, near the walking bridge and dam:
rock-bottomed river with fast flowing water, rapids and emergent rocks, but also quiet pools and backwaters.
The shoreline vegetation is mostly trees with a few small clearings supporting tall grasses and wildflowers.
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Male Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)
September 20, 2009
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Male Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) –
there are few or no black markings along the sides of the abdomen
(September 19, 2009).
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Female Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) –
easily separated from other Sympetrum females by its prominent triangular ovipositor.
Also note that the first few segments of the abdomen are conspicuously larger than the following segments,
imparting a bulbous appearance to the body
(September 19, 2009).
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Immature male Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) –
both young males and females start their adult lives a yellowish-orange color
(September 20, 2009).
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Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum), wheel
September 10, 2009
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Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) –
a closer look at the male's claspers as they grip the female
(September 01, 2009).
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Tweed, Ontario, about ½ km west of town, a marsh bordering the trans-Canada Trail:
typical local marsh with Cattails, sedges and other emergent vegetation, various small willows, alders, dogwoods and some Tamarack.
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Female Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)
August 26, 2008
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Immature male Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)
and a closeup of its hamules
(July 24, 2014).
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