Asian emerald facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Asian emerald
in Periyar National Park
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification

The Asian emerald (scientific name: Hemicordulia asiatica) is a beautiful type of dragonfly. It belongs to a group of dragonflies called the Corduliidae family. This special dragonfly is usually found in Australia, but the Asian emerald is the only one of its kind that lives in Asia. You can find it in places like the Western Ghats in India and also in Myanmar.

What Does the Asian Emerald Look Like?

The Asian emerald is a medium-sized dragonfly. It has a shiny, metallic green body with some yellow markings.

Body Parts and Colors

• Mouth parts: Its lower lip (called the labium) and upper lip (called the labrum) are bright yellow.
• Face: The lower part of its face (frons) and its sides are bright yellow. This color changes to bright orange higher up. Then, it turns into a brilliant, shiny emerald-green.
• Eyes: When the dragonfly gets older, its eyes become a beautiful emerald-green color.
• Neck and Chest: The part behind its head (pro-thorax) is dark brown with a yellow spot in the middle of its back. Its chest area (thorax) is dark metallic green. It only has yellow marks on its sides.
• Wings: Its wings are clear (hyaline), like glass. They have a dark brown spot near the tip called a pterostigma.
• Belly: Its long body (abdomen) is shiny black. It has a metallic dark green shine on its back, especially near the front. The sides of its belly have bright yellowish-orange (ochreous) marks.
• Tail parts: The parts at the end of its tail (anal appendages) are black.

Male and Female Dragonflies

Female Asian emerald dragonflies look very similar to the males.

• 

  Male

• 

  Female

• 

  Mating pair

Where Do They Live?

These dragonflies like to lay their eggs and grow up in special places. Their young (larvae) live in lakes high up in mountains (montane lakes). They also live in deep, calm pools found in mountain streams.

A Special Discovery!

In October 2017, something exciting happened! A group of people from the Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation, the Indian Dragonfly Society, and the Forest and Wildlife Department worked together. They did a survey in Periyar National Park and found the Hemicordulia asiatica dragonfly.

This was a very important find! It was the first time this dragonfly had been seen in the Western Ghats in 80 years. The last person to see it there was a scientist named Frederic Charles Fraser. Finding it again after such a long time was like rediscovering a hidden treasure!

See also

• List of odonates of India
• List of odonata of Kerala