The Magnificent Blue Emperor - A Massive European Dragonfly

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🔽 License the footage here:
1) 1url.cz/duyzV
2) 1url.cz/uumD3
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Students always ask me one thing at my lectures: "Which animal do you like best?"
At first I was unprepared and babbled something to the effect of, "Well, you know, I shoot basically everything from ants to deer, so I guess I like all animals." But then I realized that such an answer is pretty boring and nobody really wants to hear it. So I started thinking. What creatures can put a smile on my lips and sparkle in my eyes after all these years? Who would I be able to stare at for hours without getting tired and who do I look forward to seeing again every year? More went through my head, but I knew immediately who came to mind first with this definition. It was dragonflies 💙
Dragonflies really fascinate me in a way that is sometimes almost suspicious. On walks with my family or friends, I regularly find myself bouncing off somewhere, saying: "Hey, a dragonfly! Wait a minute, I'm going to see what that is." When we visit someone who has a pond in their garden, I always have to check first to see what species are flitting around. And although I'm rather cynical by nature and don't enjoy emotional outpourings very much, I can easily walk away after a sunny evening spent in the company of flying helicopters with the following words: "That was really beautiful." 🥹
Dragonflies have always been dominated by the massive Aeshnidae family. Especially the biggest of them all - the emperor dragonfly. For the sake of order, I'd like to add that even bigger than the Aeshnidae are Cordulegastridae, but they are not very abundant in nature and most of the time you have to travel to find them. By contrast, the emperor dragonfly is found almost everywhere in spring and summer. Although it is a massive insect that often surprises the inexperienced observer by its size, it has one of the lowest habitat requirements among dragonflies and can be enjoyed in almost all still or gently flowing waters. As climate change progresses, it is moving to higher altitudes, and today it successfully inhabits the entire Czech Republic. At the same time, the flying adults decorate our nature for quite a long time - the first ones start emerging at the end of April, and the last ones can be seen even during September. Other species of dragonflies sometimes fly for only two months and then it is over.
I have even heard that some photographers find the emperor dragonflies annoying. They are quite intolerant, they chase other dragonflies out of their territory and thanks to their robust body structure they often succeed. So the poor dragonfly enthusiasts visit a promising site in the hope of spotting rarer species, but all they see are aggressive blue emperors. To hell with them! Of course I am saying that as a joke with the corner of my mouth curved into a mischievous grin 😏
While the male emperors are tirelessly patrolling the water, the fertilised females sit in seclusion on aquatic plants and lay their eggs. This can be fatal to them - last year I almost managed to film a female being swallowed by a hungry marsh frog. She spotted it at the last moment and flew away. In the invertebrate kingdom, emperor dragonflies don't have many enemies, but can be taken down by larger animals. In the water, the aforementioned frogs or fish, and on land, the hobby or bee-eaters.
So come and enjoy with me what I love so much. As soon as the current cold weather wave passes, the emperors will soon start emerging and it will be a bit more cheerful by the water again ☘
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✿ Species
Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator)
✿ Location and date
South Moravia, Czechia | June 2018/2022
✿ Equipment
Panasonic GH5
Panasonic GH6
Sigma 150-600 C
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www.pond5.com/artist/lukaspich
www.pond5.com/artist/lukaspich_2
▶ Donations
paypal.me/lukaspichvideo
▶ E-mail
[e-mail]
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Emperor dragonfly | Anax imperator | Šídlo královské |
Große Königslibelle | anax empereur | libélula emperador | Дозорщик-император
#europeanwildlife #anaximperator #dragonflies

[@jaroslavnovak6843]

Jo, taková louže někde ve staré lesní cestě... To je nádhera. Vážky nad hladinou ... a svět pod hladinou... To je pokoukáníčko. Díky za připomínku takových krásných chvil.

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[@pavelboro]

Krásné video. Rád jsem sledoval. posílám Pozdrav. 🌞Pavel🦊

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[@libellenflusterer6618]

Hallo Lukas 🙋‍♂️ tolle Aufnahmen 👌 ist aber vom vorigen Jahr,ich warte ja schon Sehnsüchtig 😊LGJO 🍀

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[@keiniddepea]

Beautiful! Great capture!

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[@juliusfucik4011]

My cat brought one home yesterday 😑 It was about 8cm long.

[@berthendrikx]

Beautiful video. !!!

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[@nicolasclerc2672]

awesome video I always love seeing your nature videos!

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[@margaspren759]

To bylo fakt krásný .👍😄🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
Zbaštili by jejich larvy i pijavice ?

Těžko říct. Pravděpodobně zbaští všechno, co se jim s ohledem na velikost podaří lapit :-)

[@jumperfish]

wow

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[@evaj.4399]

Nádhera.

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