Bug FAQBlack Meadowhawk
Sympetrum danae · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
Also called: Black Darter, Black Sympetrum, Black Meadowhawk (usa)
The black meadowhawk is one of the smallest dragonflies, about 29 to 34 mm long with a 20 to 30 mm hindwing. It lives around acidic shallow pools and bogs in heathland and moorland, and adults are seen from mid-June to mid-November, peaking in July-September. Adults eat flying insects such as mosquitoes and flies, while the aquatic larvae eat mosquito and mayfly larvae and small fish.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males start with a black body and three yellow diagonal marks on the thorax that fade as they age, becoming completely black when fully mature.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It measures 29 to 34 mm in length and has a hindwing of 20 to 30 mm, making it Britain’s smallest resident dragonfly.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is a very active insect in late summer on heathland and moorland bog pools.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Aquatic larvae feed on fly, mosquito, mayfly larvae, shrimp and small fish. Adults catch flying insects, especially mosquitoes, flies, moths and mayflies, with many prey from the order Diptera.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs by dipping their abdomen tip into water while flying; eggs hatch the next spring and larvae can develop in as little as two months.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from mid-June to mid-November, most common from mid-July to mid-September.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Other Sympetrum species are called darters in Europe and meadowhawks in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 25 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do black meadowhawk larvae eat?
They eat aquatic insects such as fly, mosquito and mayfly larvae, as well as shrimp and small fish.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see black meadowhawks?
Adults are present from mid-June through mid-November, with the highest numbers in July and August.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympetrum_danae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.