Dragonfly ID help please

[Archiex]

Common Darter or not?

[glsammy]

Looks more like Ruddy Darter to me. I can't see any sign of the yellow stripes down the legs you get with the Common Darter.

[RoyW]

These do look like Ruddy Darters (the male in particular). However, I think that there is some yellow(ish) on the legs of the female, and some parts of the males legs may not be quite black.
Where abouts was this photo taken? It wouldn't surprise me if you said Scotland!

Roy.

[Archiex]

Sorry I should have said it was West Cork

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Archiex

Sorry I should have said it was West Cork

Sometimes it's more interesting to try and work out an ID without knowing where the photo was taken!
I'm still not completely sure about these two, the male does appear to have all black legs, and looks like a Ruddy Darter in other respects (eg. brown thorax and black on sides of abdomen). The female does have some yellow on the legs if you look closely though.
I believe that the female is a dark looking Common Darter, and the male is either a dark Common or a Ruddy Darter. The reason I asked about the location is that Common Darters from western Scotland are much darker than normal, and have previously been treated as a separate species (Highland Darter, Sympetrum (striolatum) nigrescens). Other areas where dark Common Darters, that have been called nigrescens have been reported include the west of Ireland...

[Archiex]

I am attaching another photo which shows more of the male underside

[Wild-Woman]

Ruddy Darter for me.

[Ukwildlifeo]

I would have said ruddy but Im not 100%

[RoyW]

I've only viewed the second photo on my phone (which wouldn't let me post just now ), but I'm now sure that these are both Common Darters.
The second photo shows the remanents of the two yellow bands on the side of the thorax that are typical of male Common Darters, but which become obscured with age. A mature male Ruddy Darter should show no yellow on the side of the thorax - and this late in the season all Ruddys should be mature. There also appears to be pale areas on the legs of both darters (although very obscure).

[Archiex]

Thanks for your trouble and expertise