Autumn Meadowhawk Sympetrum vicinum

These tiny aerial hunters are autumn specialists, arriving as temperatures drop across North America. They're part of a crowd—there are around fifteen similar species in the meadowhawk family that look almost identical to each other, making field identification genuinely challenging. What sets them apart is their distinctive bright yellow legs, a feature that gives them their name. At just 26–35 mm, they're compact dragonflies built for quick maneuvers over meadows and grasslands. If you spot one of these zippy little hunters in autumn, yellow legs are your key identifying feature.