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 →