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Sympetrum fonscolombii · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
Also called: Red-Veined Darter, Red-Veined Sympetrum, Red-veined Darter Dragonfly
The Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) is a medium-sized dragonfly, about 33 to 40 mm long, with hindwings 26 to 31 mm long. Males are bright red on the abdomen and have distinctive red wing veins, which help tell them apart from similar species. It breeds in many wet habitats such as marshes, lakes, ponds and rivers, and can have two generations per year in warm areas.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Red wing veins are a key identification feature, especially for males. Male abdomens are a vivid red, brighter than most other Sympetrum species.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Body length ranges from 33 to 40 mm, with hindwings 26 to 31 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It breeds in marshes, lakes, ponds, and both permanent and seasonal rivers.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Some larvae survive the winter before completing development.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Male S. fonscolombii can be confused with Crocothemis erythraea because both are bright red with yellow wing bases, red veins and pale pterostigma.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-veined_darter
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.