Blood-red darter

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Blood-red darter
Blood-red darter (Sympetrum sanguineum), colored male

Blood-red darter ( Sympetrum sanguineum ),
colored male

Systematics
Subordination : Dragonflies (Anisoptera)
Superfamily : Libelluloidea
Family : Libellulidae (Libellulidae)
Subfamily : Sympetrinae
Genre : Darter ( sympetrum )
Type : Blood-red darter
Scientific name
Sympetrum sanguineum
( OV Müller , 1764)

The blood-red darter ( Sympetrum sanguineum ) is a species of dragonfly from the family of the sail dragonflies (Libellulidae). These belong to the large dragonflies (Anisoptera). It is a medium-sized dragonfly with a maximum wingspan of six centimeters.

features

Young female
Young male
female
Blood-red darter laying eggs

The species reaches wingspans of five to six centimeters. The head, the chest section ( thorax ) and the abdomen ( abdomen ) are conspicuously red in the male, while in the female they are more brownish-yellow-red with black markings, although red-colored females are not uncommon in this species. The legs are completely black and have no yellow or reddish color on the upper side as in the otherwise very similar species Great Darter ( Sympetrum striolatum ) and Common Darter ( Sympetrum vulgatum ). As with the latter, the abdomen of the male is widened in the rear third of the blood-red darter (but not flattened as in the swamp darter ). The hind wings of Sympetrum sanguineum are somewhat yellowish at the base - but not as extensive as in the spotted darter .

Way of life

Imagines of the blood-red darter can be found in small still waters of all kinds from July to November.

Mating and oviposition take place in flight, with the animals flying in tandem over the water near the shore between aquatic plants or over moist soil. The females scrape off their eggs by rocking their abdomen on the surface of the water. The male separates from the female relatively soon and monitors the further oviposition while shaking , chasing away other males that are approaching. Often, however, it loses sight of the female who continues to lay eggs.

The larvae hatch in the year after oviposition. They prefer the area on the water bed or between aquatic plants and are often afflicted with soil substrate. Their aquatile development takes a year; then the metamorphosis to the finished dragonfly follows .

literature

  • H. Bellmann: Observe dragonflies - determine . Naturbuch Verlag Augsburg 1993
  • G. Jurzitza: The Kosmos dragonfly guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-08402-7
  • G. Peter: The noble dragonflies of Europe . The new Brehm library, vol. 585, Wittenberg. 1987

Web links

Commons : Blood-Red Darter ( Sympetrum sanguineum )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files