Dragon fly – Desert Darter (Sympetrum sinaiticum)

Out with the camera again and I had another encounter with a dragon fly, different one this time, this one is a Desert Darter and is comparatively scarce in Spain, but in recent years it has started to become more frequently encountered, it is classed as a good find. It is a species of arid regions and individuals are frequently found a long way from water. In this respect the species is unusual amongst the Iberian dragonfly fauna in that adults seem to delay reproductive behaviour for perhaps two months or so before returning to water to breed.
I had found a dead one in the swimming wildlife pool and had started to take some photos of it when I live one flew past and sat on a plant for me to take some photos, the results you can see below (don’t forget you can click on the pictures to get the larger image).

From Nature

From Nature

From Nature

I would like to thank Steve who is a member on the Iberian Nature Forum which I use for getting things identified. He also has his own website Cornish Nature which is a very interesting website.