Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)

Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) by Peter Orchard

The Emperors' new clothes ... but this Emperor looks splendid in his birthday suit! Our most impressive dragonfly, the biggest and most beautiful, must surely be the emperor; whoever named it certainly chose well. Some years they seem quite scarce, other years almost common. Quite often they are confused with the southern hawker which is also a blue colour but once you have seen the emperor I doubt you will ever forget it. Look out for them from June to September although they do seem more common later in the year.

They are very active dragonflies, constantly patrolling their territory and will see off any intruder, be it another emperor or any other species for that matter. What he really is looking for is, of course, a mate and does not want any competition should a female come his way. They rarely seem to settle and you need to keep a constant eye on them and wait for some time before they go to ground and you get the chance to take a closer look. You rarely see an emperor away from fresh water, be that a pond, lake, river, gravel pit or canal; it is where they hunt for food and where the females will lay their eggs. 

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