Early darter

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Early darter
Early darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), male

Early darter ( Sympetrum fonscolombii ), male

Systematics
Subordination : Dragonflies (Anisoptera)
Superfamily : Libelluloidea
Family : Libellulidae (Libellulidae)
Subfamily : Sympetrinae
Genre : Darter ( sympetrum )
Type : Early darter
Scientific name
Sympetrum fonscolombii
( Selys , 1840)

The red-veined darter ( Sympetrum fonscolombii ) is a dragonfly from the family of libellulidae (Libellulidae) that the dragonfly belongs (Anisoptera).

features

female
Close-up of the eyes with a typical gray-blue lower part
Newly hatched, not yet colored male; also note the bright, black framed wing marks and the yellow base of the hind wings
Mating wheel
Couple laying eggs

The thorax of the males, like their abdomen, is red and has light stripes on the sides. The mostly cream-colored to brownish females lack this side stripe. The males have a pronounced red wing veining, especially in the area around the base of the wings . In the wing of the female there is a yellow spot at the base. The pterostigma is relatively large compared to other members of the genus and, in contrast to them, remains yellowish to ocher in color even with age. The wing veins directly on the pterostigma are black.

Flight time

Imagines of the early darter can be seen in Central Europe from May to October. This very early flight time compared to other darter fish gave the species its German name. In warm areas of southern Europe or in Africa, the early darter can even be found as an imago throughout the year thanks to several overlapping generations.

distribution

The early darter can be found as a typical unsteady migratory species in large parts of Africa, Asia and Europe. In Central Europe, too, the species often reproduces successfully in the summer months. The question of whether the early darter can also overwinter in Germany as a larva or whether it only immigrates from the Mediterranean area again every year has not yet been fully clarified. At least in some cases, however, successful wintering in Germany has already been documented, with the majority of the individuals in spring being due to migrants.

A spread and population increase in connection with climate change has been recorded for some dragonfly species, including the early darter, which is mostly still listed in the Red List of Germany and the Red Lists of the federal states as an “inconsistent reproductive guest”.

habitat

Exuvie on a wall

The very warmth-loving species colonizes various biotopes in warm regions such as the Mediterranean region and Africa . This ranges from swamps and ponds with thick vegetation to plantless ponds that can even partially dry out. In the more northerly climes, however, the species is more picky and prefers shallow, not overgrown standing water that heats up quickly - mostly due to intense solar radiation.

The larvae temporarily tolerate light currents, at least in the Mediterranean area. The larvae have no special requirements for the chemical composition of the water. In particular, their salt tolerance is amazing which allows them to develop on their own in lagoons. The larvae do not choose any special structures for emergence , but hatch purely opportunistically depending on the larval habitat. The places for emergence range from two meter high branches to the stone on the shore. Exuvia have also been found up to 50 meters away from the water if no suitable structures were available near the water.

Naming

The early darter was first described by Selys in 1840 as Libellula fonscolombii based on a specimen from France . He named the species after the French entomologist Fonscolombe (1772-1853). In 1878 Buchecker described an animal from the Statzersee as Sympetrum rhäticum .

Some researchers question the systematic classification of the early darter at Sympetrum and plead for a classification of the species in the genus Tarnetrum . A main reason for this divergent assessment is the lack of abdominal spines in the larvae.

literature

  • Heiko Bellmann: Observe dragonflies - determine. Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 1993, ISBN 3-894-40107-9 .
  • Gerhard Jurzitza: The Kosmos dragonfly guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-08402-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.biologie.uni-ulm.de/bio3/public_html/S_fon.html visited on April 30, 2006
  2. ↑ a b Klaus Sternberg, Rainer Buchwald: Die Libellen Baden-Württemberg. Vol. 2: Large dragonflies. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1999, 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3514-0 , pp. 559ff.
  3. ^ Lehmann, Arne: Dragonflies of Northern and Central Europe. Standard work for the determination of all dragonfly species in Northern and Central Europe . 5th edition, 1998, publisher: German Youth Association for Nature Observation (DJN), ISBN 3-923376-15-4 , p. 104
  4. ^ A b Henrik Steinmann - World Catalog of Odonata (Volume II Anisoptera), de Gruyter, 1997, ISBN 3-11-014934-6 , p. 473f
  5. ↑ M. Winterholler: Red List of Endangered Dragonflies (Odonata) Bavaria. Bavarian State Office for the Environment (BayLFU), Augsburg, 2003. ( PDF online)
  6. ↑ Binot, M., Bless, R., Boye, P., Gruttke, H. & P. ​​Pretscher (eds.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Series of publications for landscape management and nature conservation 55, 1998.

Web links

Commons : Early Darter ( Sympetrum fonscolombii )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files