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 Coenagrionidae Nehalennia Selys Nehalennia is a genus of five American and one Eurasian species. These damselflies are small and delicate. The two Canadian species, unlike any others in the Pond Damsel family, are completely metallic green on the top of the thorax. They also lack pale spots behind the eyes, so common in many other members of the family. The only species in the West, Nehalennia irene, has a boreal range.   Nehalennia irene (Hagen) Sedge Sprite Provincial Status CDC rank: S4 Restricted to the Interior where it is widespread in the southern, central and northeastern areas. Columbia-Kootenay Distribution Widespread in the region (see Appendix 3). Global Distribution British Columbia east to Newfoundland; south to South Carolina, Iowa, Wyoming and California (Westfall and May 1996). Faunal element: Southern Boreal (see Appendix 2). Biological Information The Sedge Sprite, the smallest damselfly in British Columbia, is inconspicuous because it usually flies weakly in the dense grasses and sedges near the larval habitat. The species is most common in sedge meadows or in lakes bordered by sedges. While ovipositing in floating plants, the female perches horizontally and the male, clasping her thorax with the tip of his abdomen, stiffly holds himself at a 45º angle. Flight dates recorded in British Columbia range from 10 May to 2 September (Cannings and Stuart 1977; S.G. Cannings, unpubl. data).

	Copyright © Royal BC Museum All rights reserved