''Sympetrum'' is a genus of small to medium-sized

skimmer Skimmer may refer to: Animals *Skimmer (bird), a common name for birds in the genus ''Rynchops'' *Skimmer (dragonfly), a common name for dragonflies in the family Libellulidae *Water strider or skimmer, a common name for insects in the family Ge ...

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The more than 50 species predominantly live in the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

zone of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

; 15 species are native to North America. No ''Sympetrum'' species is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Most North American darters fly in late summer and autumn, breeding in

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

s and foraging over

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

s. Commonly, they are yellow-gold as juveniles, with mature males and some females becoming bright red on part or all of their bodies. An exception to this color scheme is the black darter ('' Sympetrum danae''). The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

includes the following species: *'' Sympetrum ambiguum'' – blue-faced meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum anomalum'' *'' Sympetrum arenicolor'' *'' Sympetrum baccha'' *'' Sympetrum chaconi'' *'' Sympetrum commixtum'' *'' Sympetrum cordulegaster'' *'' Sympetrum corruptum'' – variegated meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum costiferum'' – saffron-winged meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum croceolum'' *'' Sympetrum daliensis'' *'' Sympetrum danae'' – black darter, black meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum darwinianum'' *'' Sympetrum depressiusculum'' – spotted darter *'' Sympetrum dilatatum'' – St. Helena darter *'' Sympetrum durum'' *'' Sympetrum eroticum'' *'' Sympetrum evanescens'' *'' Sympetrum flaveolum'' – yellow-winged darter *''

Sympetrum fonscolombii The red-veined darter or nomad (''Sympetrum fonscolombii'') is a dragonfly of the genus ''Sympetrum''. Taxonomy There is genetic and behavioural evidence that ''S. fonscolombii'' is not closely related to the other members of the genus ''Sympetr ...

'' – red-veined darter, nomad *'' Sympetrum frequens'' *'' Sympetrum gilvum'' *'' Sympetrum gracile'' *'' Sympetrum haematoneura'' *'' Sympetrum haritonovi'' – dwarf darter *'' Sympetrum himalayanum'' *'' Sympetrum hypomelas'' *'' Sympetrum illotum'' – cardinal meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum imitans'' *'' Sympetrum infuscatum'' *'' Sympetrum internum'' – cherry-faced meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum kunckeli'' *'' Sympetrum maculatum'' *'' Sympetrum madidum'' – red-veined meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum meridionale'' – southern darter *'' Sympetrum nigrifemur'' – island darter *'' Sympetrum nigrocreatum'' – Talamanca meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum nomurai'' *'' Sympetrum obtrusum'' – white-faced meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum orientale'' *'' Sympetrum pallipes'' – striped meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum paramo'' *''

Sympetrum parvulum ''Sympetrum'' is a genus of small to medium-sized Libellulidae, skimmer dragonfly, dragonflies, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in North America. The more than 50 species predominantly live in the temperate zone of the Northern H ...

'' *'' Sympetrum pedemontanum'' – banded darter *'' Sympetrum risi'' *'' Sympetrum roraimae'' *'' Sympetrum rubicundulum'' – ruby meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum ruptum'' *'' Sympetrum sanguineum'' – ruddy darter *'' Sympetrum semicinctum'' – band-winged meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum signiferum'' *'' Sympetrum sinaiticum'' – desert darter *'' Sympetrum speciosum'' *'' Sympetrum striolatum'' – common darter *'' Sympetrum tibiale'' *'' Sympetrum uniforme'' *'' Sympetrum verum'' *'' Sympetrum vicinum'' – yellow-legged meadowhawk, autumn meadowhawk *'' Sympetrum villosum'' *'' Sympetrum vulgatum'' – vagrant darter, moustached darter *'' Sympetrum xiaoi''

References

External links

* Animal migration Anisoptera genera Libellulidae Taxa named by Edward Newman {{Libellulidae-stub