Anax parthenope
• English name: Lesser Emperor
• German name: Kleine Königslibelle
• French name: Anax napolitain
• Dutch name: Zuidelijke keizerlibel
• Swedish name: Mindre kejsartrollslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Sormusukonkorento
• Danish name: Lille kejserguldsmed
• Italian name: Imperatore minore
• Czech name: šídlo tmavé
• Slovenian name: Modroriti spremljevalec
• Bulgarian name: Тъмен пъстролет
Anax parthenope
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a very large species, reasonably common in the south but progressively rare towards the north | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Aeshnidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Anax parthenope (Selys, 1839) | |
| Name genus | • Anax: from Grk. ἄναξ = master, ruler, king | |
| Name species | • parthenope: from Grk. Παρθενόπη, an ancient Greek name for today's city of Naples, near which the first specimens were collected | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • well-vegetated lakes | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 62-75 mm; hindwing: 44-51 mm | |
| Notes | • the female oviposits in tandem, contact-guarded by the male | |
| • often shares its habitat with the slightly larger A. imperator and tends to lose out in conflicts with that species | ||
| • aeshnids are 'fliers': they spend a lot of time on the wing and seldom hang up for a rest | ||
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ the dark mark on top of the frons is small and triangular in shape |
| Thorax | • the thorax is typically brown, with only the thinnest of dark lines on the side and without an antehumeral stripe | |
| Male | Head | ➤ the eyes are green |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is brown, beige or greenish, with a thick dark mid-dorsal line | |
| ➤ there is a yellow ring between the brown thorax (and S1) and the sky-blue saddle on S2 | ||
| Female | Head | • the eyes are pale green, yellow or brown |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is typically beige or brown, with a thick dark mid-dorsal line | |
| Photographs | • our photos below were made in Italy, Spain, Greece and Tunisia |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal and lateral view, and the female's abdomen in dorsal and lateral view.
