Dragonflies (with a capital D) is the English word for the order of Odonata, which include dragonflies (no capital letter) and damselflies. This article looks at a few species of similar looking dragonfly. They all come from either middle England or Southern France - the Mediterranean Pyrenees.
These are examples of the difficulty in sorting out some of the females. The descriptions I am giving are not necessarily diagnostic but are indicative, and relate what can be seen in the photos.
Click on any photograph to go to the album of that species.
Identifying different species can be challenging. They are not always accommodating and often fly off before one can get a decent photograph. Some species differ from their near relatives in tiny details, which makes separating them quite difficult - one has to take photographs of specific parts of their anatomy. As a dragonfly ages its colours can change, sometimes significantly. Females of different species often look very similar to each other - males are the 'peacocks' and usually easier to identify.
This is a common sight, the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum).
The abdomen is fairly straight (the tail is not clubbed), the base of the wings has a small area of yellow tint, and the legs have yellow streaks. The eyes often have a greenish tinge underneath. This one is an immature female.
The Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) is so called because the male has red veins in its wings.
The female's wing veins are yellow (not red), there is a yellow patch at the wing base and the underside of the eyes is blue-grey. The pterostigma are pale with a thick black border.
The Southern Darter (Sympetrum meridionale) is very like the Common Darter.
The main differences between the Southern and Common Darters are that the Southern has a plainer thorax (the middle bit where the wings join the body), no or reduced black dashes towards the end of the abdomen top, and legs predominantly yellow rather than black.
Still on the yellow-bodied theme is the Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum).
This is one of three members of the Orthetrum family that exist in the areas I visit (there are nine altogether in Europe). It has clear wings with black pterostigmas (the black "dots" near the wing tips). The black markings are fairly robust and stand out against the yellow background of the body.
The second Orthetrum, and another female look-alike, is the Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum).
This is a fairly plain dragonfly, identified by the reddish-brown pterostigma and the arrangement of the double row of veins in the front wing, as can be seen in the photograph below.
The third of the Orthetrums is the Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum Coerulescens).
The identifying marks for this species are the unusually long pterostigma, and the two pale marks along the thorax (behind the eyes).
Many dragonfly species have brilliantly coloured males partnered by fairly inconspicuous females. An outstanding example is the Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata).
As this photo shows, the female is much like other female dragonflies. Distinctive marks include an amber patch at the wing base and a prominent black bar on the top of the final segments of the tail. The "violet" in the name is due to the vivid colouring of the male.
The final female dragonfly in this article is the Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea).
Once again the name comes from the male which is bright scarlet. The female has a plumper body than most of the others. The underneath of the eyes is blue-grey, there is a white stripe on top of the thorax and an amber patch on the wing base.
Fascinating as these look-alikes are, even more surprising is the huge difference between males and females of certain species. But that will be the subject of another article.
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2 comments
Tony James said:
Another insect family I have been involved with for many years are Phasmids (I formed the Phasmid Study Group in 1980, which is still going strong even now and have an extensive web-site and meet at the Natural History Museum, London twice a year), and when we looked through the NHM collection, the species present were nearly always brown. Since our Group has been reviewing Papers and going out to explore and get culture material, we have found that many of the insects are just as beautiful and amazing as Butterflies and Moths, and it is only by rearing them in culture that you find the full life cycle, and the variety of forms the species often take.
Bruce Hyde said:
I am planning a few more articles on distinguishing between similar species - currently working on pincertail dragonflies and featherleg damselflies.