Anax imperator
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The emperor dragonfly or blue emperor (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, although exceeded in some areas by other species.
The generic name Anax is from the ancient Greek ἄναξ, "lord"; the specific epithet imperator is the Latin for "emperor", from imperare, to command. 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. 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. The species' northward expansion has been tied to global warming, and it is among the first odonata to do so.
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. The average wingspan is 104... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 11 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 2 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 3 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 4 | Jerusalem | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 5 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 9 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Turin | 🇮🇹 Italy |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Emperor sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 183rd most-seen of the 479 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Emperor in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue 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.
4th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Blue Emperor sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia, about 20%), iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 20%) and Mercantour National Park (France, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
