Sympetrum meridionale

Southern Darter
Male of Sympetrum meridionale
Female of Sympetrum meridionale, with mites on the left wings
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Libellulidae
Genus: Sympetrum
Species: S. meridionale
Binomial name
Sympetrum meridionale
(Selys, 1841)
Synonyms
  • Libellula meridionalis Selys, 1841

The Southern Darter (Sympetrum meridionale) is a species of dragonfly belonging to the Skimmer family Libellulidae.

Description

The adults grow up to 35–40 millimetres (1.4–1.6 in) long. The wingspan reaches 52–60 millimetres (2.0–2.4 in).

The abdomen of adult males is orange-reddish, without black spots on segments. The sides of the thorax are yellowish-brown. The adult females are quite similar to males, but the background color is more yellow. The wings are hyaline, with yellow or pale brown pterostigma.

Life cycle and behavior

Their life cycle lasts two or three years. They can be encountered from May through mid October in the immediate vicinity of shallow, well vegetated still water, where the larvae develop.

Distribution

This species is present in most of southern Europe.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, July 21, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.