E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

Coenagrion angulatum
Prairie Bluet
Family: Coenagrionidae
Species account author: Robert Cannings.
Extracted from Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon (2002)


Photo of species

© John Acorn  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #1457)

E-Fauna BC Static Map
Distribution of Coenagrion angulatum in British Columbia
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Species Information


Description

The top of the thorax has undivided blue stripes. Abdominal segment 2 has a black mark on top, but usually none on the sides. Appendages shown in figure. Female yellow-green to tan, marked with black; the bases and sides of abdominal segment 8 are mostly pale, and the tops of segments 9 and 10 mostly black. Length: ♂ 28 mm, ♀ 31 mm.


Flight Period

B.C., late May to early August.

Genus Description


There are two genera of bluets: Coenagrion and Enallagma. Coenagrion live mainly in Europe and Asia. Two species range across most of northern North America: the common Taiga Bluet and the rarer Subarctic Bluet. A third, the Prairie Bluet, flies on the Great Plains. Most Eurasian Bluet adults fly in late spring or early summer. They are similar to those of Enallagma - males are blue and black (but often green below); but the structure of the male appendages is different and females have no vulvar spine.

Biology

Family Description

Small damselflies that normally perch with wings closed above the abdomen. Most males are blue marked with black, but the main colour may be green, yellow, orange, red or purple. Females often have two colour forms per species, one similar to the male (usually blue). Females lay eggs in the tissues of water plants, sometimes completely submerging themselves for a long time while laying. Larave are not as long as spreadwing larave and have short labia, unstalked at the base. There are six genera and 18 species of pond damsels in our region. The American Bluets (Enallagma) and forktails (Ischnura) are the most common groups.
Field Notes

Common at grassland ponds and forest marshes on the northern Great Plains and adjacent boreal forests.

Distribution


Western. In B.C., east of the Rocky Mountains in the Peace River and Fort Nelson regions.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)
COSEWIC
NativeS3S4BlueNot Listed
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Additional Photo Sources

General References


Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2021. E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia [efauna.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-07-26 4:41:50 PM]
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