Excuvia ID please. (1 Viewer)

Can anyone idetify the attached excuvia (is that how it is spelt?) please?

I guess it belongs to a Four Spot Chaser. I haven't seen any Hawkers about here yet (Notts).

Speaking as a novice! I wonder if it's a brown hawker. According to Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland key to final stage larvae and exuvia, for Aeshna grandis: "legs with distinct banding; lateral spine present on segment 6; lateral spine on segment 9 reaching to at least middle of segment 10"
I must admit that I'm not sure that all these criteria are met. But it's my best guess!
I don't know if it helps but I've put a photo of a brown hawker larva on another thread:

At the bottom of this page

(Identified by someone who had been on a BDS course on larva identification!)
Good luck
Ken

Thanks very much Ken,

I hace kept the excuvia so armed with those details I will have another look.

I suppose I need to buy a more detailed book than I have.


Richard

Hi Richard,
I would agree with Ken, from the features visible in the pic it does look like a Brown Hawker exuvia [no 'c' req'd].
The larger hawkers will be starting to put in an appearence now, but as with most larger dragonflies they fly quickly away from their emergence site to mature and feed up in areas such as woodland rides and flower rich meadows until ready to return to water to look for mates to breed.
Cheers,

Steve.

Thanks to Ken and Steve,

Steve, the 'disappearing act' would explain why I have not seen any Brown Hawkers yet.

I attach a close up of the exuvia.

I cannot work out the numbering of the segments. Is the triangular bit on the right the 10 segment? If so the lateral spine look to be on the 6th, 7th and 8th segments. What do you think?

BTW the legs do show distinct banding.

Richard