Catshead Sprite, Pseudagrion (B) coeleste, Broodruggesie

100 577 Catshead Sprite Male Rust de Winters Dec 2016r 4Male
100 585 Catshead Imm Male Rust de Winter June 2016 r 3 of 4Young Male
Pseudagrion coeleste, Catshead Sprite Mating PairMating Pair
Short Description:

Catshead Sprite, Pseudagrion (B) coeleste, Broodruggesie small sized bright blue damsel with cat’s head marking on S2 of the abdomen.

Family Coenagrionidae Kirby, 1890
More Images:
100 589 Pseudagrion coeleste Catshead Sprite Kasane Apr 2014 11r 2Image Gallery
1 1413 Pseudagrion coeleste Catshead Sprite M C Kozi Mch 2024r 2Male
100 789 Pseudagrion coeleste Catshead Sprite Male Close up Skukuza MP RSA Febr 2018r 3Male
 
 
 

Click on all images to enlarge or view more

Key identification features:

Male:

  • Eyes greenish  with a sky-blue body with black markings. 
  • Face green or blue, sometimes yellowish.  Back of head is black with large pale bluish green postocular spots. 
  • Black band on top of the head reach the bases of the antenna. 
  • Upper thorax is bluish green with black humeral stripe. Side of the thorax is light blue with black stripe. Wings are clear with light brown to dark mauvish brown pterostigmas. 
  • Abdomen greenish blue below with black dorsal stripe. S1 is blue with black basal spot. The marking on S2 is shaped like a cat's head. This may vary in the northern region (catshead shape with long rabbit like ears) or in Southern form (short cat ears). S3-7 has shiny rings. S8-9 seldom with narrowly black apical border, often all blue. S10 is blue with black dorsal X and black appendages. Cerci almost as long as S10, angle of inner border of lower branch of cerci rather obtuse (dorsal view), rather than with sharp angle.

Female:

  • Greenish blue with large green postocular spots. 
  • Upper thorax is brown with black humeral stripe.
Habitat

Frequents and rest the fringes of swamps, marshes, pools, and dammed reaches of rivers with an abundance of grass, floating lily pads, often aquatic vegetation,  reeds and sedges. From 0 to 1600 m above sea level.

 Behaviour:
  • Rests and flits among emergent, rank vegetation. Often rests on lily pads.
Compared with other species:
  • Distinct postocular spots
  • Distinct green on dorsal thorax
  • Thoracic blue stripe of Pseudagrion coeleste is much wider than that of Pseudagrion assegaii (Asssegaai Sprite)
  • Abdominal marking on S2 is cat's head shaped in P. Coeleste, but spear-shaped in  Pseudagrion assegaii. 
  • Female are more blueish than females of other sprite species.
Distribution:
Pseudagrion coeleste Catshead Sprite Distribution Map Feb 2021Distribution Map
South africa political map Political Map
South Africa Topographical MapTopographical Map
Pseudagrion coeleste Catshead Sprite Africa Distribution Map Feb 2021Distribution Map
Africa PoliticalPolitical Map
Africa Topographical MapTopographical Map

 South Africa

  • Eastern Lowveld of South Africa and North eastern KZN.

Africa

  •  Angola; Botswana; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Republic of South Africa; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Further reading:

Websites of interest