Anax parthenope (Selys, 1839)

It is one of the biggest dragonflies you can find in Europe, with a 95-100 mm wingspan. The thorax is brown, whereas the male's abdomen is bright blue just at the base and the rest of it feature coloration ranging from dark to black. Females are brown with black rings. Mature females can have the wing colored with brown between the pterostigma and the node.

In flight from May to September.

It prefers often wide, still waters. In its hunting flights it can go far away from water.

Widespread in southern Europe. It is spreading its range northwards, but less quickly than A. imperator. In the Cuneo region it is relatively widespread and individuals in dispersal can be observed almost everywhere. Breeding sites are very localized.