About Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839)
Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839) is a large dragonfly. It has blue eyes, a pale green thorax, and a dark brown abdomen marked with bright blue-green patches along its sides. Adults reach a body length of around 8 centimetres (3.1 in) and a wingspan of about 11 centimetres (4.3 in). The forewings are entirely clear. The inner half of each hindwing is brown, while the outer half is clear. The first abdominal segment, and the sides of the second abdominal segment, are pale green. The upper dorsal surface of the second abdominal segment is blue. The third abdominal segment is pale green along its sides, with a triangular blue spot on its dorsal surface. Abdominal segments 4 through 7 each have three pairs of bright orange spots: baso-lateral, postjugal, and apical. Segments 8 through 10 have far fewer spots overall. The anal appendages are dark brown; the middle of the inner margins of the superior anal appendages has a straight-edged, shelf-like projection. Females are generally similar in appearance to males, but the brown patch on the hindwing may be paler than in males or absent entirely. In females, the blue color on the dorsal surface of the second abdominal segment is split into four distinct sections by a narrow brown mid-dorsal carina and a transverse midpoint line, forming a cross-shaped mark. Female anal appendages are very broad and shaped like a lance head. This species is widespread, with a distribution ranging from India to Japan, Australia, and Pacific Ocean Islands. Documented locations include Northern Australia, Africa, Bangladesh, China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Hainan), Indonesia, India, Japan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Anax guttatus primarily inhabits open ponds, but it can also be found in a variety of other habitats, particularly those with slowly flowing or standing freshwater. It also occurs in urban areas.
