Red-Veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii)
• English name: Red-Veined Darter
• German name: Frühe Heidelibelle
• French name: Sympétrum de Fonscolombe
• Dutch name: Zwervende heidelibel
• Swedish name: Vandrande ängstrollslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Kulkusyyskorento
• Danish name: Rødåret hedelibel
• Italian name: Cardinale venerosse
• Czech name: vážka jarní
• Slovenian name: Malinovordeči kamenjak
• Bulgarian name: Синеоко червениче
Red-Veined Darter
(Sympetrum fonscolombii)
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a small species of central and especially southern Europe | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Libellulidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Sympetrum fonscolombii (Selys, 1840) | |
| Name genus | • Sympetrum: from Grk. συμπιέζω = to squeeze together +; ἦτρον = abdomen ⇒ Newman described Sympetrum species as having the 'abdomen laterally compressed' (as distinct from Orthetrum species, which have the 'abdomen laterally parallel') | |
| Name species | • fonscolombii: after Étienne Boyer de Fonscolombe (1772-1853), French entomologist | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • shallow ponds and lakes; also rice fields | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 33-40 mm; hindwing: 26-31 mm | |
| Notes | • libellulids are 'sitters': males spend a lot of time perched at the water's edge, waiting for females | |
| • all European Sympetrum species oviposit in tandem | ||
| • a bit bigger and more robust than other Sympetrum species | ||
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ (part of) the underside of the eye is blue-grey |
| Wings | ➤ the hindwing bears a fairly large orange patch at the base | |
| ➤ the veins close to the wing base are red (in mature males) or yellow (in immature males and females) | ||
| Legs | • the legs are black with a yellow stripe on the tibia and femur | |
| Male | Thorax | • the thorax is red with black lines and two white bands on the side; the distal band may be obscured |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is red (yellow in immature males) with black spots dorsally and laterally on S8-S9 and a thin black line along the bottom edge | |
| • the abdomen is not club-shaped | ||
| Female | Thorax | • the thorax is yellow with black lines on the side |
| Abdomen | • the top of the abdomen is yellow with black spots dorsally and laterally on S8 and S9; the side of the abdomen bears two rows of black markings | |
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in Tuscany |
LineDrawing: the female's head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view.
