''Anax parthenope'', the lesser 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 dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

of the family

Aeshnidae Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 species. The family includes some of the largest dragonflies. Description Common worldwide or nearl ...

. It is found in

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

Description

It is a crepuscular dragonfly, active in the dusk. This species can be easily distinguished by the multicolored upper surface of frons and by the shape and relative lengths of the anal appendages. Its labium and labrum are golden-yellow and face and frons are greenish yellow and eyes are green, bluish when aged. Its thorax is pale olivaceous brown with dark brown sutures. Its segment two of the abdomen is turquoise blue. Segment three has a large blue patch at each side. Segments 4 to 9 have an irregular black middorsal stripe. Segment 10 is black.

Comparison with ''Anax imperator''

''A. parthenope'' is smaller and less colourful than ''

Anax imperator The emperor dragonfly or blue emperor (''Anax imperator'') is a large species of hawker dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. It is the largest dragonfly in most of Europe, including the United Kingdom, although exceeded in some areas by other speci ...

''. In general appearance, especially when seen on the wing, ''A. parthenope'' is similar to ''A. imperator'', but ''A. parthenope'' tends to hold its abdomen straighter than ''A. imperator''. A large dragonfly seen in flight with a bent abdomen is most likely to be ''A. imperator'' rather than ''A. parthenope''. ''A. parthenope'' has a blue saddle at S2 and S3 which can be seen in flight, which is in contrast to the rest of the abdomen, which is brown. A yellow ring is at the base of S2. The eyes are green. It is similar to '' A. ephippiger'', although ''A. ephippiger'' is slightly smaller and slenderer and its blue saddle does not wrap around S2, but is mostly blue on top. ''A. ephippiger'' has brown eyes.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in much of southern and central Europe, including most Mediterranean islands, across Asia to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and on to North Africa. It has been found on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and the

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

Archipelago. It is spreading north and was first seen in Great Britain in 1996, where it has since bred.

Behaviour

In the south of its range ''A. parthenope'' can be on the wing in March. It is most commonly seen from June to September, but can still be around in November. Often seen patrolling around ponds, lakes, and other still water, it occurs with ''A. imperator'', but it is usually less abundant. When ''A. parthenope'' and ''A. imperator'' occur at the same ponds, ''A. imperator'' is dominant. Males and females mate in the normal dragonfly manner and after mating, the pair stay in tandem and egg-laying usually occurs whilst still in tandem. This behaviour is not seen in other European hawkers with the exception of ''

Aeshna affinis ''Aeshna affinis'', the southern migrant hawker or blue-eyed hawker, is a dragonfly found in southern Europe and Asia. It is in the family Aeshnidae and is very similar in appearance to '' A. mixta''. Identification ''Aeshna affinis'' is a sma ...

'', although two migrants to Europe, ''A. ephippiger'' and ''A. junius'' also oviposit in tandem. Eggs are inserted into plants or in mud and hatch out in two months. Larval development takes two years.

References

External links