The emperor dragonfly
or blue emperor
(''Anax imperator'') is a large species of hawker
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 ...
, averaging in length.
The generic name ''Anax'' is from the ancient Greek , "lord";
the specific epithet ''imperator'' is the Latin for "emperor", from ''imperare'', to command.
Distribution
This dragonfly has a wide distribution; it is found throughout Africa and through most of Europe, the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, and south-western and central Asia.
Since 2000, its range has expanded in Europe, both northwards and to higher altitudes.
Behaviour
They frequently fly high up into the sky in search of prey, which includes
butterflies
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
, other
Odonata
Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous.
The two comm ...
and tadpoles; small prey is eaten while flying. They breed in a variety of aquatic habitats from large ponds to dikes, but they require a plentiful supply of vegetation in the water. The females lay the eggs into plants such as
pondweed
Pondweed refers to many species and genera of aquatic plants and green algae:
*''Potamogeton'', a diverse and worldwide genus
*''Elodea'', found in North America
*''Aponogeton'', in Africa, Asia and Australasia
*''Groenlandia'', a genus of aquatic ...
, and always lay alone. The larvae are very aggressive and are likely to influence the native species composition of colonized freshwater ecosystems.
The adult male is highly territorial, and difficult to approach.
In the summer months emperor dragonflies are frequent visitors to gardens, being especially prevalent in the southern counties of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
.
Identification
When they first emerge, both sexes appear pale green with brown markings. The legs are brown with a yellow like base. Wings are born black but grow yellow-brown when they grow. Males have a sky blue abdomen marked with a diagnostic black dorsal stripe and an apple green thorax. The thorax and head of a male is green and their prominent eyes are blue. Females have similar markings but they are mainly green.
[
File:Blue Emperor (Anax imperator).jpg, Male
File:Ai(loz)hydro.JPG, Male in side view
File:Anax imperator 2015 11 23 6807.jpg, In flight
File:Anax imperator female.jpg, Laying eggs
File:Anax imperator Exuvie MHNT Parc de la Maourine.jpg, ]Exuviae
In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have moulted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often b ...
File:Anax Imperator 2(loz).JPG, Emerging
References
External links
Blue Emperor - OdonataMAP - Atlas of African Odonata
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q527496
Aeshnidae
Dragonflies of Europe
Insects described in 1815