''Anax guttatus'', the pale-spotted emperor or lesser green emperor, is a

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

of the family

Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its o ...

Distribution

''Anax guttatus'' is widespread from India to Japan and Australia and Pacific Ocean Islands. It is found in Northern Australia, Africa, Bangladesh,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

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Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

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Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

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Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

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French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

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and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

.Query Results

Habitat

This species mainly occurs in open ponds, but also in various habitats, especially with slowly flowing or standing freshwater. It is also present in urban areas.

Description

It is a big dragonfly with blue eyes, pale green thorax and dark brown abdomen with bright blue-green markings on the sides. It can reach a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

of about and a body length of about . Forewings are clear, the inner-half of the hindwings is brown, while the outer-half is clear. Segment 1 and sides of segment 2 of the abdomen are pale green. The dorsum of segment 2 is blue. Segment 3 is pale green on the sides with a triangular blue spot on the dorsum. Segments 4 to 7 are with a pair of baso-lateral, postjugal, and apical spots, all in bright orange. The number of spots are lesser in segment 8 to 10. Anal appendages are dark brown; the middle of the inner margins of the superiors have a projection like a straight edged shelf. Females is similar to the male; but the brown patch on the hind-wing may pale or absent. The blue on the dorsum of segment 2 will be broken up into four by a narrow brown mid-dorsal carina and a transverse line lying midway to form a cross like mark. Anal appendages are very broad and shaped like lance head.Cook Islands Biodiversity Database
/ref> File:Anax guttatus by Nagabhushan Jyothi.jpg , Male File:Anax guttatus -egg laying 3.jpg, Female File: Blue-tailed_Green_Darner_Anax_guttatus-KRNagar13Oct2007-Wiki.jpg , In flight File: Anax guttatus female (13389411724).jpg, Female. Museum specimen File: Anax guttatus male wings (34665188620).jpg, Dorsal view of the right wings of a male

Bibliography

*Fraser, F. C. (1922) Indian dragonflies. Part XIV., Journal Bombay Natural History Society 28 (4)
899-910
figs. 1–3. *Lieftinck, M.A. 1954. Handlist of Malaysian Odonata. A catalogue of the dragonflies of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and Borneo, including the adjacent small islands. Treubia 22(Supplement): i-xiii 1-202 *Rambur, P. (1842) Histoire naturelle des insectes. Névroptères., Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris 1–534, incl. pl. 1-12. *Watson, J.A.L. 1973. Odonata (Dragonflies). Appendix 3 pp. 1–7 fig. 1 tables 1–4 in, Alligator Rivers Region Environmental Fact-Finding Study: Entomology. Canberra : CSIRO, Division of Entomology. *Wise, 1980: Records of South Pacific Dragonflies (Hexapoda: Odonata). Rec. Auckland Inst. Mus. 17:175-178, W&D79,

References

External links