_ Not as above
(May have small, usually inconspicuous
yellow areas at base of wings.) ...................................... 15
15 Wing-veins bright red.
(Rare migrant, so far not recorded in
Essex.) Sympetrum fonscolombii
(Red-veined Darter)
— Not as above ...................................... 16
16 Body and legs almost completely black
(yellow and black in immature
specimens).
(Extremely rare in Essex.) Sympetrum danae
male
(Black Darter)
— Not as above ...................................... 17
17 Abdomen red. ...................................... 18
— Abdomen not red.
(May be some reddish suffusion in
ageing specimens.) ...................................... 20
18 Abdomen markedly constricted in the
middle (segments 3-5).
Legs black.
(Red colouration of abdomen bright and
uniform.) Sympetrum sanguineum
male
(Ruddy Darter)
— Abdomen more-or-less parallel-sided.
Legs with yellow longitudinal stripe.
(Red on abdomen less bright and less
uniform than in S. sanguineum.) ...................................... 19
127