Blue Emperor
(Anax imperator)

The Blue Emperor is one of the largest European dragonflies with a length of 8 cm and wingspan of 11 cm. It has a green thorax and a light blue (male ) or drab green (female ) abdomen with a wide dark line running along its length.

Anax imperator has a long flight season and can be seen from May into September. It is a majestic and very powerful flier (which typically points its abdomen downwards a bit during flight) and somehow never seems to need a rest - waiting for one to finally sit down can require a fair bit of patience...

The Blue Emperor is quite a common species throughout central and southern Europe. Its habitat ranges from ditches to small ponds to large lakes - any stagnant water with plenty of vegetation seems to do.

From our own observations, we'd describe Anax imperator as the most formidable hunter among European dragons. It can manoeuvre, effortlessly and lightning fast, to pluck yet another unfortunate moth or butterfly out of mid-air. It often devours its prey on the wing, leaving a trail of chomped off butterfly or moth wings in its wake.

The Blue Emperor doesn't rest very often, but when it does, it is easily approachable and makes a truly beautiful photographic subject ().

At our favourite lake (a large disused gravel pit) we typically see half a dozen males at the water, each with their own territory which they defend vigorously against intruders. Conflicts between males are quite frequent. But even more frequent are run-ins with the resident Lesser Emperors (Anax parthenope) whose presence somehow seems to irritate the Blue Emperor beyond endurance. Poor parthenope does get pestered a lot and nine times out of ten will have to make way for the slightly larger Blue Emperor.

The unaccompanied females insert their eggs () into submerged plant material.