Columbia Basin    Human History projects    Natural History Projects Thompson-Okanagan Upper Fraser Basin Peace River Northen Rockies Northwest

The Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of the Columbia Basin, British Columbia: Field Surveys, Collections Development and Public Education Table of Contents Return to Family Cordulegastridae Cordulegaster Leach Cordulegaster contains eight species in North America, but Cordulegaster dorsalis is the only representative of the Cordulegastridae in the Columbia Basin and in British Columbia. It is black and yellow with blue-grey eyes; and it is one of our largest dragonflies. It is most common on coastal streams, but is also a rare inhabitant of small streams, especially spring-fed ones, in the Columbia Basin. Adults patrol these streams, and the female, while hovering vertically, shoves eggs in the sand and silt of the streambed with her spadelike ovipositor.   Cordulegaster dorsalis Hagen Pacific Spiketail Provincial Status CDC rank: S5 Fairly common on coastal streams, but unknown from the Queen Charlotte Islands. Rare east of the Coast Mountains. Columbia-Kootenay Distribution Adults have been collected at only Brisco and Sand Lake near Galloway. Larvae come from Halcyon Hot Springs and Albert Canyon near Revelstoke. There are photographs of a female ovipositing in Bonanza Creek near the outlet of Summit Lake southeast of Nakusp on 9 July 1979 (G. Doerksen, RBCM collection). Global Distribution Alaska and British Columbia south to Montana, Colorado, Utah and California (Bick and Mauffray 2000). Faunal element: Cordilleran (see Appendix 2). Biological information See comments under Cordulegaster. Flight dates in the Columbia Basin range from 18 May to 23 August. The female photographed on 9 July 1979 near Nakusp was laying eggs -- as was one seen by Syd Cannings at Sand Creek (the outlet of Sand Lake) on 30 July 1999.

	Copyright © Royal BC Museum All rights reserved