Lesser Emperor

Lesser Emperor

Anax parthenope

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Lisbon

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

26 Verified sightings at Lisbon
18 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Lesser Emperor

Anax parthenope, the lesser emperor, is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, West Asia. It is a crepuscular dragonfly, active in the dusk. This species can be easily distinguished by the multicolored upper surface of frons and by the shape and relative lengths of the anal appendages. Its labium and labrum are golden-yellow and face and frons are greenish yellow and eyes are green, bluish when aged. Its thorax is pale olivaceous brown with dark brown sutures. Its segment two of the abdomen is turquoise blue. Segment three has a large blue patch at each side. Segments 4 to 9 have an irregular black middorsal stripe. Segment 10 is black.

A. parthenope is smaller and less colourful than Anax imperator. In general appearance, especially when seen on the wing, A. parthenope is similar to A. imperator, but A. parthenope tends to hold its abdomen straighter than A. imperator. A large dragonfly seen in flight with a bent abdomen is most likely to be A. imperator rather than A. parthenope. A. parthenope has a blue saddle at S2 and S3 which can be seen in flight, which is in contrast to the rest... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rostov-on-Don 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
2 Algiers 🇩🇿 Algeria
~10%
3 Turin 🇮🇹 Italy
~10%
4 Tel Aviv 🇮🇱 Israel
~10%
5 Milan 🇮🇹 Italy
~10%
6 Valencia 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
7 Budapest 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
8 Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
9 Lyon 🇫🇷 France
~10%
10 Paris 🇫🇷 France
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Lesser Emperor in Lisbon?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Emperor sighting in Lisbon on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 144th most-seen of the 441 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Lesser Emperor in Lisbon?

August and September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Emperor in Lisbon on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. Those are among Lisbon's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 95 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see a Lesser Emperor?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Lisbon the best place to see a Lesser Emperor?

14th of 20

Of the 20 cities where we can rate Lesser Emperor sightings, Lisbon ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Rostov-on-Don (Russia, about 10%), Algiers (Algeria, about 10%) and Turin (Italy, about 10%).

Where does the Lesser Emperor sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Lesser Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Lisbon (26 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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