The Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) is the smallest dragonfly to be found throughout the UK, with the male being the only member of this tribe to be predominantly black in colour – thorax, abdomen, legs and wing spots – even the top of its eyes are black!

 

This is a species that is very much at home in Argyll and the Isles, with a preference for shallow moorland bog pools where it is active from late Summer into early Autumn (late July – early September). Like other members of the dragonfly family that share this attraction to bog pools, Black Darter populations may be at risk from Climate Change and erratic rainfall, which may cause the ditches and pools in which the larvae are developing to dry up. This is a fate that befell many dragonfly locations in Argyll during the late Winter and early Spring period of 2020, resulting in many fewer adult dragonflies emerging.

 

Mature males are the only black dragonflies that may be encountered in Argyll and are, thus, unmistakable. However, females and immature males resemble other darters, of which the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) may pose most concern for observers living in Argyllshire. Look for the Black Darter's inverted dark (black) triangle on the top of its thorax to be sure.

 

Black Darters can be abundant at some sites and local dispersal and even migration may be triggered by such healthy populations. Unlike most other members of the Odonata tribe, Black Darters have a very short life-cycle. Eggs laid in August 2020, for instance, will not hatch until Spring 2021, after which the squat, spider-like nymph is fast-tracked to becoming an adult in as little as three months in the West of Scotland!