View the above photo record (by Eugene Troskie) in OdonataMAP here.
Find the Powder-faced Sprite in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Coenagrionidae
Pseudagrion kersteni – POWDER-FACED SPRITE
Identification
Small size
Length up to 37mm; Wingspan reaches 49mm.
Males closely resemble Pseudagrion furcigerum (Palmiet Sprite). The two species are best identified by the colour of the labrum on the face. Pseudagrion furcigerum has a bright, lime green labrum, while Pseudagrion kersteni has a blackish labrum.
Females are similar to those of many other Pseudagrion species and are best identified by their association with the males.
Click here for more details on identification.
Near Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Ryan Tippett
Habitat
Inhabits the grassy fringes of streams and rivers and prefers flowing water.
Behaviour
A fairly conspicuous damselfly that perches prominently on grass or reed stems over the water. Females usually a little further from the water among grass and bushes.
Most active from September to May, but active year round at some sites. (see Phenology below).
Status and Conservation
A very common species over much of South Africa, but scarce in the Western Cape. Listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution
Found virtually throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, occuring wherever there is suitable habitat.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Powder-faced Sprite in the OdonataMAP database as at February 2020.
The next map below is an imputed map, produced by an interpolation algorithm, which attempts to generate a full distribution map from the partial information in the map above. This map will be improved by the submission of records to the OdonataMAP section of the Virtual Museum.
Ultimately, we will produce a series of maps for all the odonata species in the region. The current algorithm is a new algorithm. The objective is mainly to produce “smoothed” maps that could go into a field guide for odonata. This basic version of the algorithm (as mapped above) does not make use of “explanatory variables” (e.g. altitude, terrain roughness, presence of freshwater — we will be producing maps that take these variables into account soon). Currently, it only makes use of the OdonataMAP records for the species being mapped, as well as all the other records of all other species. The basic maps are “optimistic” and will generally show ranges to be larger than what they probably are.
These maps use the data in the OdonataMAP section of the Virtual Museum, and also the database assembled by the previous JRS funded project, which was led by Professor Michael Samways and Dr KD Dijkstra.
Phenology
