Hemianax ephippiger

Hemianax ephippiger
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Family:	Aeshnidae
Genus:	Hemianax
Species:	H. ephippiger
Binomial name
Hemianax ephippiger (Burmeister, 1839)
Synonyms
Anax ephippiger

The Vagrant Emperor, Hemianax ephippiger or Anax ephippiger, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Recorded in Malta in 1957, and every few years since, it is seen through migration in large numbers. It has never been recorded breeding in the Maltese archipelago. Its natural habitats are shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs.

A rare long-distance migrant to the British Isles, occasionally seen even in winter.

References

• Clausnitzer, V. 2005. Anax ephippiger. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 August 2007.
• Sciberras, A.; Sciberras, J. and Magro D. (2007) "A Celebration of Dragonflies". The Malta Independent. November 19, pp. 8–9.
• "Anax ephippiger - Vagrant Emperor". British Dragonfly Society. Retrieved 28 May 2011.