CreatureData

Black darter

Sympetrum danae (Sulzer, 1776)

Status not recordeddragonflies

The black darter (Sympetrum danae) is a species in the family Libellulidae, order Odonata. Recorded adults reach 3.4 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 2 countries: Canada and United States.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the black darter

Weight
Not recorded
Length
2.9 cm – 3.4 cm
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivore
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
freshwater, riverine, wetland
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)
Generations a year
One
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
2 countriessrc for Countries on record

How big is the black darter?

BLACK DARTER · LENGTH 3.4 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 3.4 cm, the recorded maximum length of the black darter is about 2.0% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the black darter live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The black darter is listed for 2 countries.

CanadaUnited States of America
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Canada
  2. United States

Why a country list is not a range map

Is the black darter endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the black darter classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderOdonata
  5. familyLibellulidae
  6. genusSympetrum
  7. SpeciesSympetrum danae (Sulzer, 1776)

Synonyms Libellula danae, Libellula nigra, Libellula nigricula, Libellula scotica, Libellula veronensis, Sympetrum arcticum, Sympetrum matrix, Sympetrum pallidistigma, Sympetrum pojarkovi, Sympetrum scoticum, Sympetrum verum

Other names and names in other languages (32)
  • Black SympetrumEnglish
  • Gweyll DuWelsh
  • Sort hedelibelDanish
  • Schwarze HeidelibelleGerman
  • Alguacil oscuroSpanish
  • Must-loigukiilEstonian
  • tummasyyskorentoFinnish
  • Rouget noirFrench
  • Crni strijelacCroatian
  • Fekete szitakötőHungarian
  • Cardinale neroItalian
  • ムツアカネJapanese
  • 검정좀잠자리Korean
  • Juosvoji SkėtėLithuanian
  • Melnā klajumspāreLatvian
  • svart høstlibelleNorwegian Bokmål
  • Zwarte heidelibelDutch
  • svarthaustlibelleNorwegian Nynorsk
  • Szablak czarnyPolish
  • стрекоза чернаяRussian
  • vážka tmaváSlovak
  • Črni kamenjakSlovenian
  • Hedhësi zioshAlbanian
  • Crni poljski konjicSerbian
  • svart ängstrollsländaSwedish
  • Тонкочеревець чорнийUkrainian
  • Black Meadowhawkroot
  • Gwäell DduWelsh
  • Picellwr DuWelsh
  • Sympétrum NoirFrench
  • Sympétrum noir (Le)French
  • Szablak szkockiPolish

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the black darter

Other species in the same genus Sympetrum.

LC, Least Concern
Ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

Ruddy darter

Sympetrum sanguineum

Libellulidae

Nomad

Sympetrum fonscolombii

LibellulidaeNo free photo yet

Banded darter

Sympetrum pedemontanum

LibellulidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBlack darter vs Yellow-winged darterBlack darter vs Ruddy darterBlack darter vs Common darterBlack darter vs Nomad

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black darter?

An adult black darter measures 2.9 cm – 3.4 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the black darter live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the black darter for 2 countries: Canada and United States. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

What kind of animal is the black darter?

The black darter (Sympetrum danae) belongs to the family Libellulidae in the order Odonata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black darter (Sympetrum danae). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sympetrum-danae

MLA

“Black darter (Sympetrum danae).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sympetrum-danae.

BibTeX
@misc{sympetrum_danae_2026,
  title = {Black darter (Sympetrum danae)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sympetrum-danae},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}