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Rhionaeschna multicolor
Blue-Eyed Darner
Family: Aeshnidae
Species account author: Robert Cannings.
Extracted from Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon (2002)

Photograph

© May Kald     (Photo ID #14575)

Map

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Distribution of Rhionaeschna multicolor in British Columbia.
(Click on the map to view a larger version.)
Source: (for the static map) RBCM and BCCDC 2004 ©

Species Information


Description

Thorax stripes straight. Its face line, if it has one, is thin and pale brown. Male’s face and eyes are sky-blue; the thorax stripes and abdomen spots are blue; upper appendages forked. Female’s thorax stripes and abdomen spots are either blue or yellow. Length: ♂ 69 mm, ♀ 67 mm.


Flight Period

B.C., mid May to mid October.

Genus Description


Neotropical Darners are similar to Aeshna species but have recently been placed in a separate genus. Both sexes have a tubercle on the underside of the first abdominal segment. The two species of Rhionaeschna in B.C. have the pale areas all blue in males; the lateral thoracic stripes are straight. Both species have southern and western affinities, unlike most of our darners, which are northern and transcontinental.

Biology

Family Description

Large, swift-flying dragonflies, usually marked with blue, green or yellow. Adults hunt tirelessly for insects over ponds, lakes and streams, and wander widely in search of prey. Most species rest in a vertical position, but a few sit flat on the ground. Females have a prominent ovipositor and lay eggs in water plants or floating wood above or below the water line. Larvae are slender and sleek, with flat labia lacking bristles; they are rapacious hunters among water plants. Recently, A. californica and A. multicolor have been transferred from Aeshna to Rhionaeschna.
Field Notes

Common around marshes and marshy lakeshores and ponds in southern valleys.

Distribution


Western. In B.C., as far north as McBride, but widespread only south of about 51°N.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)
COSEWIC
UnlistedUnlistedUnlistedUnlisted



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.