| Moustached Darter (Sympetrum vulgatum (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Sympetrum vulgatum (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Moustached Darter French name: Sympétrum vulgaire, Sympètre commun Order: Odonata Suborder: Anisoptera Family: Libellulidae Wingspan: 60mm Biotope: Stagnant or slow running water, shallow and of any size. Larvae grow on the bottom under water. Imagos may fly far away any water point. Geographic area: Europe, missing in extreme North. Temperate Asia, east to Siberia. Flight time: June to November. |
The Moustached Darter mainly waits for preys flying in the proximity, landed on the ground or on a stone. The head shows long black marks running down the eye sides. Males have a more or less dark brown thorax. The abdomen is dull red. Females are yellowish brown. Both sexes have black and yellow legs. Vulvar scale on females is very pointed and perpendicular to the abdomen. This is a good key for the identification of this species. |
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The black mark running down the eye border indicates that this is not a Common Darter. It seems to me that there are yellow marks on the legs. This indicates that this is not a Ruddy Darter (There is still a doubt on this fact as the yellow marks may be a sheen effect and we cannot clearly see any pointed vulvar scale). This dragonfly is eating a prey. |
André Bon October 2008