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

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

Photo of species

© George Doerksen  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #1002)

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


Description

Male's thorax has blue stripes on top, usually undivided; the underside is unmarked; abdominal segment 2 has a U-shaped black mark on top. Female is blue to yellow-green or tan, marked with black; tops of segments 8 to 10 are black. Length: ♂ 29 mm, ♀ 30 mm.


Flight Period

B.C., late May to early September; Yukon, 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 in the Yukon and throughout B.C.'s interior, but mostly at higher elevations in the south; rare on the coast, it has not been found in Lower Mainland or on Vancouver Island. Lives in many types of habitats, but is most common in sedge marshes and peatlands.

Distribution


Northern. Widespread in most of B.C. and north to the Arctic treeline.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)
COSEWIC
NativeS5YellowNot 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: 2024-12-11 4:57:02 PM]
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