CreatureData

Emperor dragonfly

Anax imperator Leach, 1815

LCLeast Concerndragonflies

The emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) is a species in the family Aeshnidae, order Odonata. It has been recorded in 100 countries, most often in France, United Kingdom and Switzerland. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Photo: Quartl · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the emperor dragonfly

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Recorded in
100 countriessrc for Recorded in

Photos of the emperor dragonfly

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Quartl · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the emperor dragonfly live?

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF. This shows where the species has been recorded, including zoos and introduced populations. It is not a definitive range.

The emperor dragonfly has been recorded in 100 countries, from 350,940 records.

Tanzania: 6 recordsKazakhstan: 8 recordsUzbekistan: 4 recordsIndonesia: 1 recordDem. Rep. Congo: 2 recordsSomalia: 1 recordKenya: 13 recordsSudan: 22 recordsRussia: 91 recordsNorway: 182 recordsSouth Africa: 209 recordsFrance: 126,227 recordsZimbabwe: 1 recordBotswana: 19 recordsNamibia: 18 recordsSenegal: 66 recordsNigeria: 6 recordsCameroon: 1 recordCôte d'Ivoire: 2 recordsLiberia: 3 recordsEq. Guinea: 10 recordsZambia: 2 recordsMalawi: 2 recordsMozambique: 11 recordsAngola: 8 recordsIsrael: 36 recordsLebanon: 5 recordsMadagascar: 5 recordsPalestine: 6 recordsAlgeria: 8 recordsJordan: 14 recordsUnited Arab Emirates: 44 recordsIraq: 2 recordsOman: 215 recordsThailand: 1 recordIndia: 2 recordsPakistan: 1 recordAfghanistan: 3 recordsTajikistan: 15 recordsKyrgyzstan: 4 recordsTurkmenistan: 2 recordsIran: 83 recordsSyria: 41 recordsArmenia: 19 recordsSweden: 6,735 recordsBelarus: 12 recordsUkraine: 609 recordsPoland: 33 recordsAustria: 1,091 recordsHungary: 191 recordsMoldova: 3 recordsRomania: 104 recordsLithuania: 9 recordsLatvia: 1 recordEstonia: 72 recordsGermany: 11,604 recordsBulgaria: 313 recordsGreece: 716 recordsTurkey: 413 recordsAlbania: 1 recordCroatia: 15 recordsSwitzerland: 77,200 recordsLuxembourg: 530 recordsBelgium: 2,328 recordsNetherlands: 2,560 recordsPortugal: 372 recordsSpain: 1,033 recordsIreland: 1,690 recordsItaly: 626 recordsDenmark: 513 recordsUnited Kingdom: 114,022 recordsAzerbaijan: 17 recordsGeorgia: 71 recordsSlovenia: 8 recordsFinland: 50 recordsSlovakia: 5 recordsCzechia: 24 recordsYemen: 69 recordsSaudi Arabia: 9 recordsCyprus: 16 recordsMorocco: 75 recordsEgypt: 17 recordsEthiopia: 6 recordsUganda: 4 recordsRwanda: 3 recordsMacedonia: 1 recordSerbia: 1 recordMontenegro: 1 record
  • None on record
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+
records per country · small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same figures as a list, most records first

  1. France126,227
  2. United Kingdom114,022
  3. Switzerland77,200
  4. Germany11,604
  5. Sweden6,735
  6. Netherlands2,560
  7. Belgium2,328
  8. Ireland1,690
  9. Austria1,091
  10. Spain1,033
  11. Greece716
  12. Italy626
  13. Ukraine609
  14. Luxembourg530
  15. Denmark513
  16. Türkiye413
  17. Portugal372
  18. Bulgaria313
  19. Oman215
  20. South Africa209
  21. Hungary191
  22. Norway182
  23. Isle of Man144
  24. Romania104
  25. Russia91
  26. Iran83
  27. Morocco75
  28. Estonia72
  29. Réunion72
  30. Georgia71
  31. Yemen69
  32. Senegal66
  33. Liechtenstein54
  34. Finland50
  35. United Arab Emirates44
  36. Syria41
  37. Israel36
  38. Poland33
  39. Malta31
  40. Czechia24
Show 60 more countries
  1. Sudan22
  2. Armenia19
  3. Botswana19
  4. Namibia18
  5. Azerbaijan17
  6. Egypt17
  7. Cyprus16
  8. Croatia15
  9. Tajikistan15
  10. Jordan14
  11. Kenya13
  12. Mauritius13
  13. Belarus12
  14. Mozambique11
  15. Equatorial Guinea10
  16. Lithuania9
  17. Saudi Arabia9
  18. Angola8
  19. Algeria8
  20. Guernsey8
  21. Kazakhstan8
  22. Slovenia8
  23. Cape Verde7
  24. Åland Islands6
  25. Ethiopia6
  26. Nigeria6
  27. Palestinian Territories6
  28. Tanzania6
  29. Mayotte6
  30. Lebanon5
  31. Madagascar5
  32. Slovakia5
  33. Kyrgyzstan4
  34. Uganda4
  35. Uzbekistan4
  36. Afghanistan3
  37. Liberia3
  38. Moldova3
  39. Rwanda3
  40. Congo - Kinshasa2
  41. Côte d’Ivoire2
  42. India2
  43. Iraq2
  44. Jersey2
  45. Monaco2
  46. Malawi2
  47. Turkmenistan2
  48. Zambia2
  49. Albania1
  50. Cameroon1
  51. Indonesia1
  52. Latvia1
  53. Montenegro1
  54. North Macedonia1
  55. Pakistan1
  56. Serbia1
  57. Somalia1
  58. São Tomé & Príncipe1
  59. Thailand1
  60. Zimbabwe1

What is the emperor dragonfly?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

Wikipedia contributors, “Emperor dragonfly”, Wikipedia (revision 1378655735), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the emperor dragonfly endangered?

The emperor dragonfly is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the emperor dragonfly classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderOdonata
  5. familyAeshnidae
  6. genusAnax
  7. SpeciesAnax imperator Leach, 1815

Synonyms Aeschna azurea, Aeschna dorsalis, Aeschna formosa, Aeschna lunata, Aeshna formosa, Anax formosa, Anax mauricianus, Anax mauritianus

Names in other languages (9)
  • Anax empereurFrench
  • Große KönigslibelleGerman
  • Grote keizerlibelDutch
  • KejsartrollsländaSwedish
  • コウテイギンヤンマJapanese
  • 帝王伟蜓Chinese
  • Дозорщик-императорRussian
  • Blue emperorEnglish
  • Grosse KönigslibelleGerman

GBIFWikidataWikipediaNCBI TaxonomyEncyclopedia of LifeiNaturalist

Relatives of the emperor dragonfly

Other species in the same class Insecta.

DD, Data Deficient
Honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Honey bee

Apis mellifera

Apidae

CompareEmperor dragonfly vs Honey beeEmperor dragonfly vs Monarch butterflyEmperor dragonfly vs Seven-spot ladybirdEmperor dragonfly vs Stag beetle

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Where does the emperor dragonfly live?

The emperor dragonfly has openly licensed sighting records from 100 countries on GBIF. The most records come from France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Is the emperor dragonfly endangered?

The emperor dragonfly is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the emperor dragonfly?

The emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) belongs to the family Aeshnidae in the order Odonata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/emperor-dragonfly

MLA

“Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/emperor-dragonfly.

BibTeX
@misc{emperor_dragonfly_2026,
  title = {Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/emperor-dragonfly},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}