Vagrant darter

The vagrant darter, or moustached darter, (Sympetrum vulgatum) is a European dragonfly. The species takes its English name from its habit of occasionally appearing as a rare vagrant north of its normal range. However, it is likely to be under-recorded because it is very similar to the common darter (S. striolatum).

Vagrant darter
Mating
Female
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Infraorder:	Anisoptera
Family:	Libellulidae
Genus:	Sympetrum
Species:	S. vulgatum
Binomial name
Sympetrum vulgatum (Linnaeus, 1758)
Range of S. vulgatum.

The species is common in central and northeast Europe. It breeds in standing water.

Appearance

As stated in the common darter page, Sympetrum species are not easy to tell apart from one another. They have black moustache markings that extend down the sides of their face, giving them the moustached darter name. Males have an overall redish body, with a distinctly red thorax. Females have an orangeish-yellow body and a prominent vulva scale. Fully mature ones will have a brown pterostigma. Immature males and fully mature females can look very similar, but immature males might have a less colored pterostigma.

Behavior

This is a rare migratory species that gets the name vagrant darter from its rare visits to the U.K., which is outside of regions where it is normally spotted, those being countries mostly in south-western Europe like France, Germany, and many Slavic Countries. They are oviparous, which means that the females lay undeveloped eggs that develop largely outside of the mother.

References

• Brooks, Philip S. Corbet & Stephen J. (2008). Dragonflies. London: Collins. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-00-715169-1.
• Fauna Europaea
• "Vagrant Darter". British Dragonfly Society.