Banded darter (dragonfly)

Species of dragonfly

Sympetrum pedemontanum, the banded darter, is a dragonfly belonging to the genus Sympetrum. It is characterized by its small stature, dark wing bands, and red or yellow body. It lives in areas with low vegetation and stagnant or weakly flowing bodies of water. Although debate exists regarding the taxa's relationship to others in its genus, it can most commonly be identified by its wing bands, bilobed prothorax, and possibly its genitalia.

It is wide spread across Eurasia and is known for its tendency to cohabitate in artificial habitats. It is Commonly found in irrigated hay meadows, semipermanent marsh lands, they have a tendency for residing around trimmed grass and bodies of water as this is where they lay their eggs. Banded darters lay their eggs in stagnant or weakly flowing shallow water.

Sympetrum pedemontanum displays fluctuating and cyclical population growth. Females dip their abdomen into water to lay their eggs while males guard the females.

Sympetrum pedemontanum are comparatively smaller than most dragonfly species with an average size of less than 40mm. Banded darters are characterized by the dark bands on their wings which is where they get their name. Bands on the hind wings tend to be slightly wider than the bands on their fore wings, with variability in band size, shape and position seen across age and location as well as high levels of variability across populations. Spp pedemontanum, like most dragonflies, is diurnal with compound eyes able to detect colors and process images with high resolution. Distinctive features include its red body in males and yellow body in females, black markings on thorax, abdomen, and legs, and a well developed raised posterior lobe, and its distinctive banded wings. and using its compound eyes to help the dragonfly catch its prey. Prey for adults consists of a variety of small insects. Sympetrum in the larval stages keep their predatory nature and feed on many small pond organisms. The larval diet may consist of tadpoles, mosquitos and mayfly larvae, and small crustaceans.

Sympetrum pedemontanum belongs to a family consisting of three other dragonfly taxa: Sympetrum intermedium, Sympetrum kurentzovi, and Sympetrum elatum. A lack of synapomorphies makes the taxa difficult to characterize and leaves it open to debate about which species belong to the genus. A common feature among sympetrum is a bilobed prothorax adorned with long setae, however this trait is also seen in similar genus of dragonflies. North American species have more morphological similarities to palearctic and nearctic species but the similarities have not yet been addressed. One synapomorphy of the genus seems to be a similarity between genitalia but this is also a weak and somewhat unreliable synapomorphy.