Sympetrum is a genus of small to medium-sized skimmer dragonflies, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in North America. The more than 50 species predominantly live in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere; no Sympetrum species is native to Australia.
Most North American darters fly in late summer and autumn, breeding in ponds and foraging over meadows. Commonly, they are yellow-gold as juveniles, with mature males and some females becoming bright red on part or all of their bodies. An exception to this color scheme is the black darter (Sympetrum danae).[1]
The genus includes the following species:[2]
Sympetrum commixtum, Nepal Sympetrum vicinum mating Sympetrum is a genus of small to medium-sized skimmer dragonflies, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in North America. The more than 50 species predominantly live in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere; no Sympetrum species is native to Australia.
Most North American darters fly in late summer and autumn, breeding in ponds and foraging over meadows. Commonly, they are yellow-gold as juveniles, with mature males and some females becoming bright red on part or all of their bodies. An exception to this color scheme is the black darter (Sympetrum danae).
The genus includes the following species:
Sympetrum ambiguum (Rambur, 1842) – blue-faced meadowhawk Sympetrum anomalum Needham, 1930 Sympetrum arenicolor Jödicke, 1994 Sympetrum baccha (Selys, 1884) Sympetrum chaconi De Marmels, 1994 Sympetrum commixtum (Selys, 1884) Sympetrum cordulegaster (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum corruptum (Hagen, 1861) – variegated meadowhawk Sympetrum costiferum (Hagen, 1861) – saffron-winged meadowhawk Sympetrum croceolum (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum daliensis Zhu, 1999 Sympetrum danae (Sulzer, 1776) – black darter, black meadowhawk Sympetrum darwinianum Selys, 1883 Sympetrum depressiusculum (Selys, 1841) – spotted darter Sympetrum dilatatum (Calvert, 1892) – St. Helena darter Sympetrum durum Bartenev, 1916 Sympetrum eroticum (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum evanescens De Marmels, 1992 Sympetrum flaveolum (Linnaeus, 1758) – yellow-winged darter Sympetrum fonscolombii (Selys, 1840) – red-veined darter, nomad Sympetrum frequens (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum gilvum (Selys, 1884) Sympetrum gracile Oguma, 1915 Sympetrum haematoneura Fraser, 1924 Sympetrum haritonovi Borisov, 1983 – dwarf darter Sympetrum himalayanum Navás, 1934 Sympetrum hypomelas (Selys, 1884) Sympetrum illotum (Hagen, 1861) – cardinal meadowhawk Sympetrum imitans (Selys, 1886) Sympetrum infuscatum (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum internum Montgomery, 1943 – cherry-faced meadowhawk Sympetrum kunckeli (Selys, 1884) Sympetrum maculatum Oguma, 1922 Sympetrum madidum (Hagen, 1861) – red-veined meadowhawk Sympetrum meridionale (Selys, 1841) – southern darter Sympetrum nigrifemur (Selys, 1884) – island darter Sympetrum nigrocreatum Calvert, 1920 – Talamanca meadowhawk Sympetrum nomurai Asahina, 1997 Sympetrum obtrusum (Hagen, 1861) – white-faced meadowhawk Sympetrum orientale (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum pallipes (Hagen, 1874) – striped meadowhawk Sympetrum paramo De Marmels, 2001 Sympetrum parvulum (Bartenev, 1912) Sympetrum pedemontanum (Müller, 1766) – banded darter Sympetrum risi Bartenev, 1914 Sympetrum roraimae De Marmels, 1988 Sympetrum rubicundulum (Say, 1840) – ruby meadowhawk Sympetrum ruptum Needham, 1930 Sympetrum sanguineum (Müller, 1764) – ruddy darter Sympetrum semicinctum (Say, 1840) – band-winged meadowhawk Sympetrum signiferum Cannings & Garrison, 1991 Sympetrum sinaiticum Dumont, 1977 – desert darter Sympetrum speciosum Oguma, 1915 Sympetrum striolatum (Charpentier, 1840) – common darter Sympetrum tibiale (Ris, 1897) Sympetrum uniforme (Selys, 1883) Sympetrum verum Bartenev, 1916 Sympetrum vicinum (Hagen, 1861) – yellow-legged meadowhawk, autumn meadowhawk Sympetrum villosum Ris, 1911 Sympetrum vulgatum (Linnaeus, 1758) – vagrant darter, moustached darter Sympetrum xiaoi Han & Zhu, 1997
