The northern emerald (Somatochlora arctica) is a middle-sized species of dragonfly first described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1840.

The female has distinctive orange-yellow spots on (only) the third segment of the abdomen.

This species lives in bogs and lays its eggs in very small water-filled depressions.

In Great Britain, it is only present in north-western Scotland and is confined to the south-western part of Ireland.

In Western Europe, it is present in alpine areas and wherever a suitable habitat can be found.