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Sympetrum costiferum (Saffron-winged Meadowhawk)BC conservation rank: S5. Yellow List.Description: The wings have yellow veins and a yellow stripe along their front edges. The stripe is especially obvious on immatures, which are all yellow, except for thin dark lines on the sides of the thorax, black marks on the legs (sometimes the legs are all dark) and a narrow black line on each side of the abdomen. As they age, males and some females turn dark red, the lines on the sides of the thorax disappear and the yellow wing stripe usually fades; other females turn brown. Hamule, fig. 19e; vulvar lamina a short, unlobed trough. Length: male female 36 mm. Global Rank: British Columbia, east to Newfoundland; south to New Jersey and California (Needham et al. 2000). Faunal element: Transition (see Appendix 2). BC Distribution: Widespread across the province but few records north of the Cariboo-Chilcotin regions. Biology: Common, at least in southern lowlands. Inhabits ponds and lakes (e.g., Wm01-02, Wm04-06), especially in the open, including alkaline ponds in grasslands (Wm07, GS01-03). Walker and Corbet (1975) state that it is the Sympetrum most tolerant of alkaline conditions and it often favours the reedy edges of sandy or gravelly ponds. BC flight period: early June to early November; almost all records are from early July to mid October.
Sympetrum costiferum Map 3. Frequency of records in British Columbia by NTS 1/50,000 mapsheet. |
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