Wednesday 22 August 2007

Foot-tipped Darter (Sympetrum eroticum)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Sympetrum (?) eroticum ("erotic")
Adult male Foot-tipped Darter (subspecies S. e. eroticum) at Kyoto Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto, Japan - June 2013

Featured Subspecies: Sympetrum eroticum eroticum
Length: 30-42mm  /  Wingspan: 70mm
UK Status: Not Present IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While watching birds at a small water fountain in Kyoto's Imperial Palace Garden, a small number of these dragonflies were patrolling the area, occasionally landing on the plants long enough to get a proper look at them.  This species took a fair bit of identifying - though it does have an English name (though to what "foot-topped" refers, I don't know) but it ultimately involved going through a list of Japanese dragonflies until I narrowed it down to the right one.  This species seems fairly variable in colour, ranging from bright yellow to bright red and anything in between, as with this individual.

Related Species:
Order: Odonata
Family: Libellulidae
Genus: Sympetrum
SUBSPECIES: S. e. ardens, S. e. eroticum

- Sighting Locations -
JAPAN - Japanese - マユタ テア カネ  /  Mayutateakane
Locally common resident
 - KYOTO/OSAKA 2013 TRIP: Seen in Kyoto.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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