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Common darter ♀
Sympetrum cf. striolatum
52.3769, 5.98596
Field Notes
Description:
Brownish yellow appearance and about 3,8 to 4,3 cm in lenght. Sympetrum species are not easy to tell apart and in most areas more than one Sympetrum species will occur. Females and teneral individuals have light yellow thorax and abdomen. Males turn red as they mature. Females darken with age, becoming a dark chocolate brown, and sometimes develop a blue coloration to the bottom of the abdomen. The wings also develop a brown tinge with age. In all cases the legs have a cream or yellow stripe on a black background - this is a diagnostic feature of this species. The pterostigma of the females can be red, blue, pale blue or brown.
Habitat:
Ponds and other still, stagnant or even brackish waters are used, and they are found at small garden ponds. They are also frequently found away from water, resting on the tops of plants in woodland rides.
Notes:
I think this is a female common darter instead of a ruby darter. Mainly because this dragonfly has yellowish thighs and the black line marking doesn't extend part way down the side on the frons. Spotted in a young managed coniferous forest bordering heathland at Renderklippen, Veluwe, Holland. (sources:see reference)
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