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Anax immaculifrons

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 (the population further east in Asia is now recognized as a separate species, A. aurantiacus); it is Europe's largest dragonfly but very marginal in the continent where restricted to some Aegean Islands and Cyprus.

Description

A. immaculifrons has a length of and a wingspan of about . It is a large, bluish green dragonfly with sapphire-blue eyes, bluish-green thorax, and pale reddish-brown abdomen marked with black. Its thorax is pale bluish-green on dorsum with a blackish-brown mid-dorsal carina and turquoise-blue laterally. There is a narrow black stripe over humeral suture and a very broad one over the postero-lateral suture with a narrow black posterior border on metepimeron. Wings are transparent with amber-yellow tint. Segment 1 of the abdomen is entirely black. Segment 2 is turquoise-blue, with a mid-dorsal transverse mark shaped like a sea-gull in flight. Segment 3 has its basal half turquoise-blue and apical half black, with a small mid-dorsal spot on blue. Segments 4 to 8 are with apical half black and pale reddish-brown at base. Segment 9 and 10 are black on dorsum. A more reddish form from southeast Asia and southern China was formerly included in this species, but in 2022 it was recognized as a separate species, A. aurantiacus.

Behavior

A. immaculifrons is found near slow flowing hill or mountain streams where it breeds. Eggs are inserted into reeds emerging from water.

See also

References

External links