Coenagrionid nymph
Photograph courtesy of the Institute for Water Quality Studies, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry

The Coenagrionid Damselflies (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) of South Africa

Compiled by Tanza Crouch and Tessa Hedge

Department of Entomology & Arachnology, Durban Natural Science Museum, P O Box 4085, Durban, 4000 South Africa
Tel: +27 [0]31-311 2243 Fax: +27 [0]31-311 2242

© Copyright of this page belongs to the author.
Yours is the access since 1st January 2000

Introduction

Coenagrionidae

References

Coenagrionid adults
Photograph courtesy of Hamish Robertson, South African Museum

Family: COENAGRIONIDAE Kirby, 1890

Genus: CERIAGRION Selys 1876: 1235
1. C. glabrum (Burmeister)
  
  Agrion glabrum Burmeister 1839: Handb. Ent. 2(II)2: 821
  Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northwestern Province and Northern Province, to Namibia and equatorial Africa; November to May
2. C. suave Ris
  
  Ceriagrion suave Ris 1921: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 18: 316, f. 32
  Mpumalanga, ?KwaZulu-Natal; March, April and July
Genus: PSEUDAGRION Selys 1876: 490
1. P. acaciae Förster
  
  Pseudagrion acaciae Förster 1906: Jber. Ver. naturk. Mannheim. 71-72: 56
  Northern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, and Mpumalanga, to East Africa; November, December, March to May
2. P. assegaii Pinhey
  
  Pseudagrion assegaii Pinhey 1950: Ann. Tvl. Mus. 21: 261, f. 5-10
  Northern Province, to Botswana and Zambia; December
3. P. caffrum (Burmeister)
  
  Agrion caffrum Burmeister 1839: Handb. Ent. 2(II)(2): 821
  Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga; November to May
4. P. citricola Barnard
  
  Pseudagrion citricola Barnard 1937: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 32: 212
  Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Gauteng; October to April
5. P. coeleste Longfield
  
  Pseudagrion coeleste (as Pseudagrion coelestis [misspelling]) Longfield, 1947 Arcos. Mus. Bocage 16: 9 f. 3
  **
6. P. commoniae nigerrimum Pinhey
  
  Erythromma commoniae Förstr 1902: 69, sep
  = P. nigerrimum Pinhey 1950: Ann. Tvl. Mus. 21: 265
  = P. commoniae nigerrimum Pinhey 1984: J. Entomol. Soc. sth. Afr. 47:
  KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and Northern Province, to Somalia; December, January and May
7. P. draconis Barnard
  
  Pseudagrion kersteni var draconis Barnard 1937: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 32: 213
  Western Cape; October, November and March
8. P. furcigerum (Rambur)
  
  Agrion furcigerum Rambur 1842: Ins. Neur. p. 261
  Western Cape; October to February
9. P. gamblesi Pinhey
  
  Pseudagrion gamblesi Pinhey 1978: Arnoldia. Rhod. 4
  = Pseudagrion gigas Pinhey 1950 nec Schmidt 1936
  KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, to Zimbabwe and Zaire; November and December
10. P. hageni Karsch
  
  Pseudagrion hageni hageni Karsch 1893: Berl. Ent. Z. 38: 38
  = Pseudagrion angolense rubridorsum Balinsky 1963: J. ent. Soc. S. Afr. 26(1): 245
  Western Cape and Eastern Cape; January to May
  Pseudagrion hageni tropicanum Pinhey 1966: Rev. zool. bot. Afr. 73: 290
  KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; November to April, June
11. P. hamoni Fraser
  
  Pseudagrion hamoni Fraser 1955: Rev. Fr. Ent. 22: 239
  = Pseudagrion whellani Pinhey 1956: Occ, Pap. natn. Mus. Rhod. (B)3: 83-84, f 1
  Swaziland, Mpumalanga and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa and north Africa; January to May
12. P. inconspicuum Ris
  
  Pseudagrion inconspicuum Ris 1931: Rev. suisse. Zool. 38: 98
  Western Cape, to Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Zaire; November to January
13. P. inopinatum Balinsky
  
  Pseudagrion inopinatum Balinsky 1971: J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. 34(1): 11, f. 1a-k
  KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga; October to December
14. P. kersteni (Gersaecker)
  
  Agrion kersteni Gersaecker 1869: Arch. Naturgesch. 35(1): 222
  = Pseudagrion praetextatum Selys 1876: Bull. Acad. r. Belg. (2)42: 494
  Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; September to May
15. P. makabusiense Pinhey
  
  Pseudagrion makabusiense (as Pseudagrion makabusiensis [misspelling]) Pinhey 1950: Ann. Tvl. Mus. 21: 263
  Northern Province, to Zimbabwe; December, May
16. P. massaicum Sjöstedt
  
  Pseudagrion massaicum Sjöstedt 1909: Kilimandjaro-Meru Exped. 2(14): 48
  Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Northwestern Province, Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; **
17. P. massaicum var kogmani Barnard
  
  Pseudagrion massaicum var. kogmani Barnard 1937: Ann. Sth. Afr. Mus. 32(3): 215, f. 15
  Western Cape; November
18. P. newtoni Pinhey
  
  Pseudagrion newtoni Pinhey 1962: Occ. Pap. natn. Mus. Sth. Rhod. (B)26: 895
  Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal; December to March
19. P. salisburyense Ris
  
  Pseudagrion salisburyense Ris 1921: Ann. Sth. Afr. Mus. 18: 306, f. 26
  Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northwestern Province, Northern Province, to Zimbabwe and Somalia; September to April
20. P. sjoestedti pseudosjoestedti Pinhey
  
  Pseudagrion sjoestedti Förster, 1906: Jber. Ver. naturk. Mannheim. 71-71: 88
  Pseudagrion pseudosjoestedti Pinehy, 1964: Rev. Entom. Mocambiqur 7:
  Northern Province, to Zimbabwe and Mozambique
21. P. spernatum natalense Ris
  
  Pseudagrion natalense Ris 1921: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 18: 307, f. 27, pl. 8, f. 1
  Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern Province, to Zaire and Ethiopia; October to April
22. P. sublacteum sublacteum (Karsch)
  
  Coenagrion sublacteum Karsch 1893: Berl. ent. Z. 38: 40
  = ** pseudomassaicum Pinhey 1951: Mem. Tvl. Mus. 5: 93
  KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; December to April
23. P. sudanicum rubroviride Pinhey
  
  Pseudagrion rubroviridis Pinhey, 1955: Occ. Pap. Croydon Mem. Mus. 4: 23
  Pseudagrion sudanicum ssp. rubroviride Pinhey, 1964
  Northern Province, to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and D.R. Congo
24. P. umsingaziense Balinsky
  
  Pseudagrion umsingaziense Balinsky 1963: J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. 26(1): 237
  KwaZulu-Natal and Northwestern Province; December and January
25. P. vaalense Chutter
  
  Pseudagrion vaalense Chutter 1962: Revista. Biol. 3: 173
  Free State, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape; October to May
Genus: ENALLAGMA Charpentier 1840: 21
1. E. elongatum (Martin)
  
  Ischnura elongatum Martin 1907: Bull. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris. 1906: 513
  KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland, to Ethiopia; October and April
2. E. glaucum (Burmeister)
  
  Agrion glaucum Burmeister 1839: Handb. Ent. 2(II)2: 821
  Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; October to July
3. E. nigridorsum nigridorsum Selys
  
  Enallagma nigridorsum Selys 1876: Bull. Acad. r. Belg. 2(41): 531
  KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; November, December, February and May
4. E. polychromaticum Barnard
  
  Enallagma polychromaticum Barnard 1937: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 32: 220
  Western Cape; January and February
5. E. rotundipenne Ris
  
  Enallagma rotundipenne Ris 1921: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 18: 321, f. 34
  = Enallagma rotundipennis Samways 1992: Odonatol. 21: 166 (misspelling)
  Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng; February and March
6. E. sapphirinum Pinhey
  
  Enallagma sapphirinum (as E. sapphirina [misspelling]) Pinhey 1950: Ann. Tvl. Mus. 21: 267, f. 18-22
  Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Gaugeng; November to February
7. E. sinuatum Ris
  
  Enallagma sinuatum Ris 1921: Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 18: 330, f. 40
  KwaZulu-Natal, to Zaire and Tanzania; May
8. E. subfurcatum Selys
  
  Enallagma subfurcatum Selys 1876: Bull. Acad. r. Belg. (2)41: 534
  Western Cape; October to December
Genus: ISCHNURA Charpentier 1840: 259
1. I. senegalensis (Rambur)
  
  Agrion senegalensis Rambur 1842: Ins. Neur. p. 276
  Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Northwestern Province, to Namibia, equatorial Africa and India;October to June
Genus: AGRIOCNEMIS Selys 1869: 24
Revised by Pinhey (1974)
1. A. exilis Selys
  
  Agriocnemis exilis Selys 1872: Revue. Zool. (2)123: 182
  Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and Northern Province, to equatorial Africa; October to April
2. A. falcifera falcifera Pinhey
  
  Agriocnemis falcifera Pinhey 1959: J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. 22: 465
  Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal; December to February
  Agriocnemis falcifera transvaalica Pinhey 1974: Pap. natn. Mus. Monum. Rhod. (Nat. Sci. ) (B)5(4): 213, f. 9m-n
  Northern Province; February
3. A. gratiosa Gerstaecker
  
  Agriocnemis gratiosa Gerstaecker 1891: Jb. Lamb. wiss. Anst. 9: 190
  KwaZulu-Natal; January
4. A. pinheyi Balinsky
  
  Agriocnemis pinheyi Balinsky 1963: J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. 26(1): 247, f. 30-32, 35-37
  KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Northern Province, to Zambia; December and January
5. A. ruberrima Balinsky
  
  Agriocnemis ruberrima Balilnsky 1961: J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. 24: 74, f. 1-7
  KwaZulu-Natal, and Namibia; November, March and May

This part of A Catalogue of South African Insects revised:

The Coenagrionid Damselflies (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) of South Africa

Compiled by Tanza Crouch and Tessa Hedge

CONTENTS

Family: COENAGRIONIDAE Kirby, 1890