The ruddy darter (''Sympetrum sanguineum'') is a species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

of the family

Libellulidae The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. E ...

Distribution

The ruddy darter is to be found in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions throughout EuropeFauna Europaea
as far east as

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

and as far south as the northern

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

is regarded as secure, and indeed numbers seem to be increasing in some locations such as central

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. IUCN
/ref> It is present in the following countries: Albania; Algeria; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Tajikistan; Tunisia; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Uzbekistan.

Habitat

This species tends to prefer quiet bodies of water that feature semiaquatic vegetation such as rushes and reeds.

Description

The ruddy darter can reach a body length of BDS
-

British Dragonfly Society The British Dragonfly Society is a conservation organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1983 and its aims are to promote and to encourage the study and conservation of dragonflies and damselflies and their natural habitats, espec ...

and attains a wingspan of up to 6 cm. These dragonflies are smaller than the Common Darter. They have black legs and the wings show a brown

pterostigma The pterostigma (plural: pterostigmata) is a group of specialized cells in the outer wings of insects, which are often thickened or coloured, and thus stand out from other cells. It is particularly noticeable in dragonflies, but present also in ...

and an orange color at the base of the wings. Two evident black marks are located on segments S8 and S9 of the abdomen. The head,

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the ...

and

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

of the mature male are vivid red, while the female is slightly smaller, and is a golden-yellow colour with black markings. The blood-red color of the males develop with maturity, together with a red frons and a red-brown thorax. The abdomen widens for the final third of its length and shows a marked pinched section where it joins the thorax. The all-black legs of the ruddy darter distinguish it from the otherwise very similar

common darter The common darter (''Sympetrum striolatum'') is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae native to Eurasia. It is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe, occurring in a wide variety of water bodies, though with a preference for breeding in s ...

(''Sympetrum striolatum'') and vagrant darter (''Sympetrum vulgatum''), both of which show yellow stripes on their legs. The spotted darter (''Sympetrum depressiusculum'') with all-black legs has noticeably more clubbed abdomen and brighter pterostigmata.

Life cycle

The ruddy darter can be found between the months of June and November.

Mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually rep ...

takes place on the wing, with the coupled pair performing a dipping flight over the water. The female jettisons her fertilised

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

at the water surface by alternating movements of the abdomen. The male may hover nearby during this period and protect the female by driving off any approaching males. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e spend the year beneath the water surface before emerging and

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

ting into adults.

Gallery

Sympetrum sanguineum qtl10.jpg, Mating pair Sympetrum sanguineum - jettisoning eggs.ogv, thumbtime=72, Jettisoning eggs Ruddy darter dragonfly (Sympetrum sanguineum) newly-emerged male.jpg, Newly emerged male Ruddy darter dragonfly (Sympetrum sanguineum) almost adult male wings high.jpg, Almost adult male Ruddy darter dragonfly (Sympetrum sanguineum) adult male head.jpg, Adult male File:Sympetrum sanguineum almost adult Female.JPG, Almost adult female

References

Libellulidae Odonata of Africa Odonata of Asia Dragonflies of Europe Insects described in 1764 Taxa named by Otto Friedrich Müller Articles containing video clips {{Dragonfly-stub