Vagrant Darter

Sympetrum vulgatum · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

Also called: Moustached Darter, Vagrant Sympetrum

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Vagrant Darter
Photo: Jörg Hempel, CC BY-SA

The Vagrant Darter has distinctive black markings that look like a moustache on its face. Males are mostly reddish with a bright red thorax. It breeds in standing water and is common in central and northeast Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Black facial markings extend down the sides of the head, giving it a moustache-like appearance. Males show an overall reddish body with a distinctly red thorax.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It breeds in standing water.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Females lay undeveloped eggs that develop mostly outside the mother.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It is often under-recorded because it looks very similar to the common darter. Sympetrum species are generally hard to tell apart from each other.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Vagrant Darter photo 3
Photo: Jörg Hempel, CC BY-SA

Same family (Libellulidae)

Blue DasherBlue DasherPachydiplax longipennisEastern PondhawkEastern PondhawkErythemis simplicicollisCommon WhitetailCommon WhitetailPlathemis lydiaWidow SkimmerWidow SkimmerLibellula luctuosaAutumn MeadowhawkAutumn MeadowhawkSympetrum vicinumCommon DarterCommon DarterSympetrum striolatum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagrant_darter

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

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