Anax imperator

A large dragonfly with a body length of 66-84 mm and a hindwing length of 45-52 mm, the pentagonal-shaped black mark on top of the frons and the light blue abdomen with a thick dark mid-dorsal line in males and apple green thorax are diagnostic, otherwise males are bluish while females primarily green. Also called the “emperor dragonfly,” the blue lives in standing or slow-flowing waters such as ponds, lakes, and marshes bordered with rushes and hydrophytes. This species flies June through September, flight often high up in the air.

Photographs

 male

Attribution: Loz (L.B. Tettenborn) (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Rosenzweig (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Ocrdu (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Quartl (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

 female

Attribution: Charles J Sharp (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Luc hoogenstein (Wikipedia Creative Commons)