Now we have 3 species of red coloured male darters on the wing I thought I’d take a closer look at the 2 you’re more likely to see. Stephen Barlow has sent in this photo of a male Ruddy Darter seen at Ellesmere showing completely black legs, a black line down the side of the frons, a waisted abdomen and the lack of a dark panel on the side of the thorax. In contrast Harry Beaman saw this male Common Darter also in Ellesmere (below left) showing a yellow stripe on the legs, no frons side line, a more parallel sided abdomen and a distinct dark panel on the side of the thorax. Geoff Hall took this lovely photo of a male Ruddy Darter (below right) at Aston Locks NR showing the wonderful blood red coloration of male Ruddy Darters as opposed to the more washed out orangey-red typically seen in Common Darter. Geoff also took these great photos of a female Emperor Dragonfly ovipositing at Aston Locks illustrating a great yellow costa (leading vein) on the wing and a stunning reflection!
