German darters (1 Viewer)

Could someone help me ID some darters I found in Bonn recently?

They appear to have all black legs so I assumed Ruddy but the abdomen does not look waisted, despite being red, and there are some small black dots ringed with yellow that apparently is a feature of Vagrant. Having only a camera phone did not help with the quality of my pictures.

I read that female Ruddy can turn red and that the wings also turn golden with age so that would be my first suggestion.

Any ideas?

In the absence of any other replies. The black goes along the top of the frons but not down the sides eliminating both Ruddy and Vagrant Darter. It looks like a male Common Darter to me but with the legs appearing black - they can darken with age and the pale stripes down the rear of each leg can be difficult to see. I've attached a similar-ish one (although you can see the stripes in the legs). Common Darters have small black dots ringed with yellow. I don't know if it's an artefact but I think I can see a little bit of the yellow side panel just in front of the wing.

Thanks Paul,

I had a feeling the information about the black spots was the other way round!

How about this other darter? It would appear to me that the black extends down the side of the frons but the image is not brilliant.

Dave

I think it's just shadow - I put it in lightroom to get the detail out of the shadows (attached) and I can't see any thick black going down the sides.

Here's one (a female) showing the "moustache" http://www.dragonflypix.com/photos/sympetrum_vulgatum_16.jpg

HTH, Paul

Moustached / Vagrant Darter is common on my patch in Russia