Brun kejserguldsmed (Anax ephippiger)
• English name: Vagrant Emperor
• German name: Schabracken-Königslibelle
• French name: Anax porte-selle
• Dutch name: Zadellibel
• Swedish name: Brun kejsartrollslända
• Norwegian name: Trekkøyenstikker
• Finnish name: Kulku-ukonkorento
• Danish name: Brun kejserguldsmed
• Italian name: Imperatore migrante
• Czech name: šídlo hnědé
• Slovenian name: Afriški minljivec
• Bulgarian name: Прелетен пъстролет
Brun kejserguldsmed (Anax ephippiger)
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 large species which regularly visits the Mediterranean area and occasionally ventures further up north | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Aeshnidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Anax ephippiger (Burmeister, 1839) | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • shallow, warm and often temporary pools and ponds | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 61-70 mm; hindwing: 43-48 mm | |
| Notes | • the female oviposits in tandem, contact-guarded by the male | |
| • seldom manages to establish viable long-term populations in Europe | ||
| • aeshnids are 'fliers': they spend a lot of time on the wing and seldom hang up for a rest | ||
| • also known as Hemianax ephippiger | ||
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ the eyes are brown |
| • the top of the frons bears three dark bars: in addition to the usual black bars at the top and bottom, there is a third, chocolate-brown bar | ||
| Thorax | • the thorax is beige-brown, without an antehumeral stripe | |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is beige-brown, with a thick dark mid-dorsal line | |
| • in immature animals the saddle on S2 is usually pale violet | ||
| Male | Abdomen | ➤ in mature males a sky-blue saddle covers the top (but not the sides) of S2 |
| • the upper appendages are tapered and pointed | ||
| Female | Abdomen | • the saddle on S2 is pale violet or may be absent altogether |
| • the appendages are rounded and pointed | ||
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in the south of Italy | |
| • the photos we made in Central Italy (Emilia-Romagna) show immature animals at a site where a small population successfully reproduced from around 2006-2009 |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal and lateral view, the male's appendages in dorsal view, and the female's abdomen in lateral view.
