Emperor Dragonfly 

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Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)

Male Emperor Dragonfly (click to enlarge)

The Emperor Dragonfly can be seen between early July and early October. The male has a bright blue abdomen and a bright green thorax with blueish green eyes. The female is wholly green with a black stripe down the centre of the length of the abdomen and yellowish-green eyes. The Emperor breeds in ponds, lakes, canals, ditches and slow-moving rivers where there is good marginal vegetation. Males can often be seen patrolling a regular sector of water just above the surface. The distribution of this species is largely confined to southern England, south Wales and the south-west with only a few isolated examples reaching a line from the Humber estuary across to Cumbria in the north.

 Left - A male Empepror emerges from its larval case. Right - shows the same dragonfly fully emerged and with wings still extending and hardening in the sun. Both photos by Peter Stokes. Click thumbnails to enlarge.