Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
• English name: Common Darter
• German name: Grosse Heidelibelle
• French name: Sympétrum fascié
• Dutch name: Bruinrode heidelibel
• Swedish name: Större ängstrollslända
• Norwegian name: Rødbrun høstlibelle
• Finnish name: Lännensyyskorento
• Danish name: Stor hedelibel
• Italian name: Cardinale striato
• Czech name: vážka žíhaná
• Slovenian name: Progasti kamenjak
• Bulgarian name: Обикновено червениче
Common Darter
(Sympetrum striolatum)
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a small species, common throughout Europe except the far north | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Libellulidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Sympetrum striolatum (Charpentier, 1840) | |
| Name genus | • Sympetrum: from Grk. συμπιέζω = to squeeze together +; ἦτρον = abdomen ⇒ Newman described Sympetrum species as having the 'abdomen laterally compressed' (as distinct from Orthetrum species, which have the 'abdomen laterally parallel') | |
| Name species | • striolatum: from Lat. striolatus, -a, -um = with little furrows; [stria = furrow] ⇒ presumably for the furrowed underside of the abdomen | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • shallow ponds and lakes | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 35-44 mm; hindwing: 24-30 mm | |
| Notes | • libellulids are 'sitters': males spend a lot of time perched at the water's edge, waiting for females | |
| • all European Sympetrum species oviposit in tandem | ||
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ there is no 'teardrop' along the edge of the eye (cf. S. vulgatum |
| Legs | • the legs are black with a yellow stripe on the tibia and femur | |
| Male | Thorax | ➤ the thorax is brown with, on the side, black lines and two bright yellow bands |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is red (yellow in immature males) with black spots dorsally on S8-S9 and a thin black line along the bottom edge | |
| • the abdomen is not club-shaped | ||
| Female | Thorax | • the thorax is yellow-brown with black lines on the side |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen bears two rows of elongated black spots laterally, with further black spots dorsally on S8-S9 and a thin black line along the bottom edge | |
| ➤ the vulvar scale is relatively small (cf. S. vulgatum) | ||
| Photographs | • most of our photos below were made in Tuscany |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view.
