CALIFORNIA DAMSELFLIES
aka CALIFORNIA ZYGOPTERA

Checklist provided by Ron Lyons

with COMMON NAMES OF DRAGONFLIES
as adopted by the Dragonfly Society of the Americas
(Argia, vol.8, no.2, 1 August 1996)

Information for this site has been collected and edited Kathy Biggs who assumes full responsibility.


New links &/or information was added to this page or at least one of the pages of
CA Damselflies on
DECEMBER 31, 2001 (flight data up-dated)


The CA distribution maps were last updated on NOVEMBER 27, 2001. Click here to access distribution in nearby states


Request an Excel chart of CA Dragonfly distribution by county by emailing Kathy

NEW! A CALIFORNIA Dragonfly Discussion Group, the CalOdes group at Yahoo! Groups, was formed in January 2002. To learn more about the CalOdes group, please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CalOdes. To start sending messages to members of this group, simply send email to CalOdes@yahoogroups.com.

There is also a USA discussion group at darners@yahoogroups.com. To learn more about the darners group, please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/darners

2nd printing
Common DRAGONFLIES of California
A Beginner's Pocket Guide


by Kathy Biggs

Click here to go to links to newspaper
articles and reviews, etc.
Schedule of CA DRAGONFLY EVENTS by Kathy Biggs

MARCH 16th, a Saturday, 1:30 - slide program and possibly a field trip at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael.
March 19th, a Tuesday - slide program for The Blucher Creek Watershed Council in the Hessel Chruch (directions), 5060 Hessel Ave., Sebastopol. Business program at 6:15, slide show at 7:00.
APRIL 6, a Saturday, 1:00 - slide program for Napa CNPS at their Spring Wildflower Plant Sale/Event at Skyline Park in Napa.
APRIL 27/28th (the last weekend) - The Kern River Preserve's Bio-regions Festival - slide program and field trip
MAY 2nd - Pomona Valley Audubon- Dragonfly slide program
MAY 13th, Monday - Santa Cruz CNPS
MAY 16th, Thursday, 1:30 - Oakland Museum - Dragonfly slide program (free with admission price to museum)
JUNE 1st - Dragonfly outing at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa through Footloose Forays (fee required). Contact Michael Ellis
JUNE 2nd - Dragonfly identification course and field trip (beginning level) in Berkeley through Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden (fee required)
SEPTEMBER 14th - 16th, New Mexico Dragonfly Festival - Dragonfly Program in New Mexico

PENDING: (Kathy may or may not elect to do these)
Spring
West Contra Costa County Sierra Club
San Diego Audubon
Irvine CNPS
Joshua Tree Institute, Palm Springs
Summer:
Dragonfly identification course and field trip (intermediate level) in Berkeley through Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden (fee required)
Blucher Valley C Water Council in Sebastopol
intro to dragonflies class for Santa Clara Audubon
San Bernardino Valley Audubon
High Mt. Inn - Sierra Nevadas
Sonoma Land Trust
Orange Co. NABA

All the programs listed above are open to the public and attendance is free unless otherwise noted. If you are interested in attending any of these programs and need more information, including location & directions, please contact the group the program is being given for, or email Kathy.

To learn more about these fascinating insect's life cycle go to "Damsels and Dragons - the Insect Order Odonata". This article by Ron Lyons, which first appeared in the Internet Pond Society's "The Internet Ponder's Online Magazine", was written in 1997 for the "Critter's in Your Pond" column I was writing at the time.

Click here to read the article An Interview with Kathy Biggs, on Dragonflies, Dragonfly Ponds and how She Became an Author
shortcut to Broad-winged Damselflies , or to Spreadwings, or to Pond Damsels, or to or to Dragonfly Families

A NEW SPECIES ADDED TO CA RECORDS 5-99!

Distribution Maps are maintained by Tim Manolis. They are based on information originally collected by Dennis Paulson (see address below) and they are now being updated by new sightings and specimens found in museum collections. If you find a species in a new county please contact Kathy and/or Tim.

Information for this site has been collected and edited by Kathy Biggs who assumes full responsibility.



This site was begun in 1997 because of my frustrations in trying to identify the damselflies that came to visit our garden pond. I discovered that there were no `identification guides' for the species found in California. Therefore I began searching the Internet, libraries and museums for checklists, photographs and information. I want to especially thank Ron Lyons who made available the Checklist of CA Species and who was a great beginning `tutor' in all things Odonata, and Dennis Paulson of Washington, who along with Rosser Garrison did the research to create the information used in Ron's list and who has been invaluable to me in learning about these fascinating insects. Also of great encouragement and help have been these other experts, any of which I'm certain would also be willing to help you if you have questions: Andy Rehn of UCDavis, CA, The staff at the California Academy of Science's Department of Entomology, Roy Beckemeyer of Kansas, Bob Barber of New Jersey and Mark O'Brien of Michigan. I'd of course also like to thank all of the photographers. Both those who have allowed me to link to their sites in the web sites photo column, and those who have sent me their photographs &/or jpegs to use on the website. Their photos have made learning to identify dragonflies and damselflies possible.


The damselfly families with links indicated below have been found in California.

References to pictures are as follows:

Audubon Guide = Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders

CA Insects = California Insects by Jerry Powell and Charles Hogue

CA Dragonflies = Common Dragonflies of California, A Beginner's Pocket Guide by Kathy Biggs

LA Insects = Insects of the Los Angeles Basin by Charles Hogue

Western Forest =The Audubon Society Nature Guides - Western Forest

Kansas Checklist = Checklist of Kansas Damselflies - The Kansas School Naturalist 1998

Dragonflies of Washington = Dragonflies of Washington by Dennis Paulson, Seattle Audubon Society 1999

* = photo/scan(s)/key available to see at this Internet website


Scientific Name

Common Name

Archaic Name

 Remarks/Description

Habitat/Flight Dates

 Picture in book

*Photo/scan at website
ZYGOPTERA

DAMELSFLIES

 CA has about 40 species representing 3 of the 5 American families

description: slender-bodied, generally smaller and frailer than dragonflies;
eyes set far apart, farther apart than 1 diameter;
appear hammer headed;
wings held together over abdomen when perched
males: bump under their second abdominal segment which is their secondary genitalia;
four terminal abdominal appendages which include their claspers;
often blue and black patterned
females: wide ovipositor on the lower end of their abdomen;
only two terminal abdominal appendages;
usually duller colored than males, often tan and black patterned
nymph: slender and elongate - unlike dragonfly nymph;
3 gills at end of abdomen;
thorax & abdomen slender - not wider or narrower than head;
cryptic colored, slow-moving clingers to aquatic vegetation/debris/rocks

behavior: when perched, wings are usually held together sail- like over or alongside abdomen;
weak flyers, usually found not too far from water;
oviposit into plant tissue

 body parts
Sketch by Barbara Chasteen

CA Dragonflies p. 56

Anatomy of Dragonflies and Damselflies (by R. Barber from Walker, 1953)

*Key to larva in Michigan, UMMZ

The Emergence of a Damselfly provided by An Ottawa Valley Naturalist

FAMILY Calopterygidae

Broad-winged Damselflies

New links

&/or information

was added to this site

on
DECEMBER 31, 2001 (flight data up-dated)

2 CA genera

sizes: large, lengths 25 - 51 mm

description: wings broaden gradually from the base;
bodies bluish green or reddish black;
often referred to as `jewelwings' due to the gem-like coloring of their bodies &/or wings

Photo by Dave Biggs

*Key to larva in Michigan, UMMZ

FAMILY Lestidae

Spreadwings

New links

&/or information

was added at this site
DECEMBER 31, 2001 (flight data up-dated)

2 CA genera

sizes: medium to large, slender, 31- 62 mm

description: clear wings that narrow to stalks at base;
wings held spread when at rest
males: dark with blues, greens;
blue eyes; pruinose pale area near tip;
some show more extensive pruinosity
females: stouter, less colorful

behaviors: unique posture - hold their wings mostly open (but not flat) when at rest, (like stealth bombers)

habitat: mostly found in mountain ponds, marshes, & streams


Photo by Bob Claypole

CA Dragonflies p. 70

*Key to larva in Michigan, UMMZ

FAMILY Coenagrionidae

Pond Damsels

aka Stalk-winged or Narrow-winged

New links

&/or information

was added at this site

on
DECEMBER 31, 2001 (flight data up-dated)

8 CA genera - totaling 30 species

sizes: mostly small, some med.; lengths 20 - 47 mm

description: males and some females brightly colored;
usually blue and black with varying degrees of blue on abdomens;
clear wings with small stigma are narrow at base
females: less colorful; stouter than males;
most are tan where the males are blue but some are colored male-like

behavior: wings held sail-like over abdomen when perched

habitats: quite variable, still waters, quiet streams


Photo by James Lasswell

CA Dragonflies p. 57

CA Insects-p46 #19, 20

Audubon Guide- naiad pl. 35 &39

*Key to larva in Michigan, UMMZ



For more Odonata (Dragonfly) links go to ODONATA LINKS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
2nd printing now available!
Common DRAGONFLIES of California
A Beginner's Pocket Guide


by Kathy Biggs

Includes damselflies

Click here to return to The CA Dragonflies `front page' site

Send e-mail to Kathy Biggs if you would like to request a
field list of California Odonata that you can down load(Word 7.0 doc 32K)


For help in identifying CA Odonata, go to "FIELD KEY TO ADULT CALIFORNIA DRAGONFLIES (ODONATA) " .
This is a BETA version key and it includes damselflies. It needs field testing. (There is also an OLD key using wing venation and sexual appendages in "Aquatic Insects of California" by Unsinger, but this has been out of print for several years. The California Library system should have copies of Unsinger's book available for in-library reference work).
To learn more about these fascinating insects go to Ron Lyon's informative site:
Damsels and Dragons - the Insect Order Odonata.

To encourage dragonflies and damselflies, build a pond "and they will come!"
Read Kathy's article The Pleasures of Wildlife Ponding by clicking here.

or

Click here to go to the Biggs's Wildlife Pond

or

here to go to the Biggs's Pond Wildlife Sightings List with links to photos of some of our visitors

or

Click here to see pictures of the Biggs's pond and its development.

If you have any corrections or additions to this site please send e-mail to Kathy Biggs

THE END OF CALIFORNIA DAMSELFLY FAMILY LINK PAGE!
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