Emperor dragonfly

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Emperor dragonfly
Anax imperator qtl2.jpg
Male
Tenerife, Spain
Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) female (cropped).JPG
female
Oxfordshire, England
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Family: Aeshnidae
Genus: Anax
Species:
A. imperator
Binomial name
Anax imperator
Leach, 1815
Synonyms [1]

The emperor dragonfly [2] or blue emperor [1] (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, [2] although exceeded in some areas by other species.

Contents

Nomenclature

The generic name Anax is from the ancient Greek ἄναξ, "lord"; [3] the specific epithet imperator is the Latin for "emperor", from imperare, to command. [4]

Distribution

This dragonfly has a wide distribution through Afroeurasia; it is found throughout Africa and through most of Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and south-western and central Asia. [1] Since the 1990s, its range has expanded in Europe, both northwards and to higher altitudes. For example, the first Scandinavian record was in 1994 in Denmark; in 2002 it was first recorded in Sweden and in 2004 first in Scotland; today it is regular in all three countries. [1] [2] [5] The species' northward expansion has been tied to global warming, and it is among the first odonata to do so. [1] [5]

Identification

The emperor dragonfly is a large and bulky species. It is 73–82 mm (2.9–3.2 in) long, with average being 78 mm (3.1 in) and males growing larger than females. [2] [6] The average wingspan is 104 mm (4.1 in). [6] When they first emerge, both sexes appear pale green with brown markings. The legs are brown with a yellow like base. Wings are born black but grow yellow-brown when they grow. Males have a bright sky blue or turquoise abdomen marked with a diagnostic black dorsal stripe. [7] However, their blue colour may be faded during cold weather spells. The thorax and head of a male is apple green and their prominent eyes are blue. Females have similar markings but they are mainly a duller green. [7] As the females age, their wings become browner. Less immediately visible features for both sexes are the yellow costa and brown spots on the wings. [8] Emperor dragonflies can also be recognised by their flight patterns: they often fly with their abdomen hanging slightly downwards. [2] [8]

One of the largest species in Europe, the emperor dragonfly is exceeded by magnificent emperor, which occurs only marginally in the east Mediterranean [9] and in length by females of the golden-ringed dragonfly, a species with an unusually long ovipositor. [10] Thus, in most of Europe the emperor is the largest dragonfly species present.

Behaviour

They frequently fly high up into the sky in search of prey, which includes butterflies, other odonata and tadpoles. If their hunt is successful, they eat their smaller prey while flying. The dragonflies breed in a variety of aquatic habitats from large ponds to dikes and slow-moving rivers, but require a plentiful supply of vegetation in the water. [5] [11] They do sometimes breed in brackish water. [8] The females lay the eggs into plants such as pondweed, and always lay alone. The aquatic larvae are very aggressive and are likely to influence the native species composition of freshwater ecosystems they arrive in. [5] The larvae are also very large–around 46 millimetres (1.8 in). [12] The adult male is highly territorial, and difficult to approach. [7]

Conservation

Emperor dragonflies are assessed as a least-concern species by the IUCN. The species has widespread and has a stable population. [1]

Mitochrondrial genome

The mitogenome of the emperor dragonfly is the longest of all known dragonfly sequences. It has 16,087 base pairs. [5] For comparison, the human mitogenome has 16,569 bp [13] and the closely related dragonfly Anax parthenope has 15,366. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragonfly</span> Predatory winged insects

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 threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterised by a pair of large, multifaceted, compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeshnidae</span> Family of dragonflies

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-spotted chaser</span> Species of dragonfly

Libellula quadrimaculata, known in Europe as the four-spotted chaser and in North America as the four-spotted skimmer, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae found widely throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green darner</span> Species of dragonfly

The green darner or common green darner, after its resemblance to a darning needle, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America, it also ranges south to Panama. It is well known for its great migration distance from the northern United States south into Texas and Mexico. It also occurs in the Caribbean, Tahiti, and Asia from Japan to mainland China. It is the official insect for the state of Washington in the United States.

<i>Enallagma cyathigerum</i> Species of damselfly

Enallagma cyathigerum is a species found mainly between latitudes 40°N and 72°N; It is widely distributed in the Palearctic, and the Nearctic species Enallagma annexum was at one time considered to be synonymous with it. The species can reach a length of 32 to 35 mm. It is common in many different countries including Russia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United States of America, and South Korea. Damselflies are an important link between the health of the aquatic ecosystem and its response to climate change.

<i>Anax ephippiger</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax ephippiger, the vagrant emperor, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It migrates to Afro-tropical, Europe, central and southern Asia through monsoon winds.

<i>Anax guttatus</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax guttatus, the pale-spotted emperor or lesser green emperor, is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae.

<i>Aeshna affinis</i> Species of dragonfly

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.

<i>Anax parthenope</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax parthenope, the lesser emperor, is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Asia.

<i>Anax</i> (dragonfly) Genus of dragonflies

Anax is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae. It includes species such as the emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator.

<i>Anax immaculifrons</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax immaculifrons, the magnificent emperor, or blue darner, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. Almost all its range is in West and South Asia ; it is Europe's largest dragonfly but very marginal in the continent where restricted to some Aegean Islands and Cyprus.

<i>Anax indicus</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax indicus is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

<i>Austroaeschna muelleri</i> Species of dragonfly

Austroaeschna muelleri is a species of large dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae, known as the Carnarvon darner. It has been found only in Carnarvon National Park in Central Queensland, Australia, where it inhabits small rocky streams.

<i>Anax gibbosulus</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax gibbosulus is a species of large dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae, commonly known as the green emperor. It inhabits swamps and brackish waters from India through northern Australia to the Pacific.

<i>Anax georgius</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax georgius is a species of large dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae, commonly known as the Kimberley emperor. It inhabits ponds in the Kimberley area of Western Australia

<i>Anax concolor</i> Species of dragonfly

Anax concolor, the blue-spotted comet, is a species of darner in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae. It is found in Central America and South America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mitra, A. (2016). "Anax imperator". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T59812A72311295. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T59812A72311295.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Emperor". British Dragonfly Society . Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Beekes, Robert (2010) [2009]. "S.v. ἄναξ". Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Vol. 1. With the assistance of Lucien van Beek. Leiden, Boston: Brill. pp. 98–99. ISBN   978-900417-418-4.
  4. ↑ "imperator (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Herzog, Rebecca; Osigus, Hans−Jürgen; Feindt, Wiebke; Schierwater, Bernd; Hadrys, Heike (29 October 2016). "The complete mitochondrial genome of the emperor dragonfly Anax imperator LEACH, 1815 (Odonata: Aeshnidae) via NGS sequencing". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 1 (1): 783–786. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2016.1186523 . PMC   7799497 . PMID   33473626. S2CID   89088747.
  6. 1 2 "Anax imperator (Leach, 1815)". Insects of Britain and Ireland: dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Emperor dragonfly videos, photos and facts — Anax imperator". ARKive. Archived from the original on 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  8. 1 2 3 Smallshire, Dave; Swash, Andy (2020-07-14). Europe's Dragonflies: A field guide to the damselflies and dragonflies. Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-20497-0.
  9. ↑ "Anax immaculifrons Rambur, 1842 – Magnificent Emperor". Dragonflies and Damselflies – in and around Europe. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Golden-ringed Dragonfly". British Dragonfly Society . Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Emperor Dragonfly". Lincolnshire Species. Archived from the original on 25 Oct 2003.
  12. ↑ Minot, Marceau; Le Gall, Mickael; Huste, Aurelie (2019-09-10). "Biometry of the large dragonfly Anax imperator (Odonata: Aeshnidae): A study of traits from larval development to adults". European Journal of Entomology. 116: 269–280. doi:10.14411/eje.2019.031.
  13. ↑ García-Olivares, Víctor; Muñoz-Barrera, Adrián; Lorenzo-Salazar, José M.; Zaragoza-Trello, Carlos; Rubio-Rodríguez, Luis A.; Díaz-de Usera, Ana; Jáspez, David; Iñigo-Campos, Antonio; González-Montelongo, Rafaela; Flores, Carlos (2021-10-15). "A benchmarking of human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup classifiers from whole-genome and whole-exome sequence data". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 20510. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99895-5. ISSN   2045-2322.
  14. ↑ Wang, Ying; Du, Yimin; Song, Xiang; Huang, Aijun (2021-01-02). "Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Anax parthenope (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnidae) and phylogenetic analysis". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 6 (1): 122–123. doi:10.1080/23802359.2020.1848479. ISSN   2380-2359. PMC   7808743 . PMID   33490598.
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