Dragonfly
Emperor Dragonfly
Anax imperator
Europe's patrolling heavyweight.
Least ConcernIUCN status
50.0km/h top speed
10.6cm wingspan
7.8cm body length
2.0years lifespan
Speed against a 60 km/h scale — the ceiling for the fastest dragonflies.
Emperors rarely settle. Males patrol a stretch of open water for hours, eating small prey in mid-air without ever landing.
Habitat. Well-vegetated lakes and large ponds in Europe and North Africa
Posts featuring Emperor Dragonfly
💠 Dragonfly Field Notes
Field Notes: A Pond in June, Hour by Hour
Nothing rare, nothing dramatic. Just a small pond, one warm day, and everything that happened over it.
💠 Dragonfly Field Notes
Compound Eyes With 30,000 Facets, and Almost No Blind Spot
A dragonfly's head is mostly eye, and its eye is mostly a targeting computer.
💠 Dragonfly Field Notes
Four Wings, Independently Controlled: How a Dragonfly Actually Flies
Each of a dragonfly's four wings has its own muscles, its own timing, and its own opinion. That is the whole trick.