Sympetrum is a genus of small to medium sized skimmer dragonflies, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in the North America. There are more than 50 species, predominantly living in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere; no Sympetrum are native to Australia.

Most North American darters fly in late summer and autumn, breeding in ponds and foraging over meadows. Commonly, they are yellow-gold as juveniles, with mature males and some females becoming bright red on part or all of their bodies. An exception to this color scheme is the Black Darter, Sympetrum danae.

Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera). The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata. The term odonate has been coined to provide an English name for the group as a whole, but is not in common usage; most Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term true dragonfly, or simply Anisoptera, when referring to just the Anisoptera.

The largest living odonates are the giant Central American damselfly Megaloprepus coerulatus, and the Giant Hawaiian Darner (Anax strenuus), a dragonfly endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The prehistoric "giant dragonflies" belonged to the Protodonata (or Meganisoptera), closely related to true dragonflies but not part of the Odonata in the restricted sense.