About Sympetrum flaveolum (Linnaeus, 1758)
The yellow-winged darter, with the scientific name Sympetrum flaveolum (Linnaeus, 1758), is a species of dragonfly found in Europe, as well as mid and northern China. This species only breeds in stagnant water, most often in peat bogs. While it does not permanently reside in the United Kingdom, it occasionally migrates to the UK in significant numbers. These so-called 'Invasion Years' happened in 1906, 1926, 1945, 1953, and 1995. During each of these invasion events, a small breeding colony developed, but the colonies always died out within a few years. The yellow-winged darter is an almost unmistakable darter dragonfly. Males have red bodies, and both sexes have extensive saffron-yellow colouring in the basal area of every wing, a feature that is especially noticeable on the hindwings. Other species in the Sympetrum genus may have a small amount of yellow-orange colouring near the very base of their wings, particularly in females, but this colouring is never as extensive as it is in the yellow-winged darter. Habitats that tend to attract this species have thick, rush-lined margins. When settled at a site, the yellow-winged darter typically makes fairly short flights, and often perches quite low on vegetation. While the yellow-winged darter has bred in the UK, it has not become an established species there. On very rare occasions, single individual yellow-winged darters have been recorded in Cumbria. The most recent UK record of the species was from Killington Reservoir in August 1995. In Southern Europe, the nymphs of this dragonfly live in high-altitude oligotrophic lakes that contain submerged vegetation. As an abundant predator, the species plays an important role in the food chains of these high altitude lakes.
