About Anax papuensis (Burmeister, 1839)
The Australian emperor, Anax papuensis, is a very large dragonfly that reaches up to 70 mm in body length, with a wingspan of 11 centimetres (4.3 in). Males and females of this species are similar in appearance. Its abdomen has bold black and yellow markings, and its thorax is greenish-grey. The head is yellow, with a T-shaped mark on the forehead (frons), and its eyes are yellow-green. The leading edges of its wings are yellow. This dragonfly typically hunts at a fairly slow pace, patrolling up and down in the pattern common to other hawker dragonflies, with occasional short bursts of high speed. The Australian emperor is distributed throughout Australia. In the Australian state of Victoria, it has a split distribution, occurring below approximately 600 metres in altitude and above approximately 1200 metres; this split is thought to be caused by the species' avoidance of forested areas. It can also be found in New Zealand, New Guinea, the Cocos-Keeling Islands, Java, Sumba, and New Caledonia. This species is widespread and common around larger bodies of water that have tall vegetation along their banks. Like other hawker dragonflies, it may hunt at locations far from water. It flies throughout the summer season, from September to May.
