Cover photo by Alan Manson.
Find the Great Sprite in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Coenagrionidae
Identification
Umzimkhulu River, near Creighton, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Alan Manson
Medium sized
Length up to 50mm; Wingspan reaches 65mm.
The Great Sprite is the largest Sprite in the region, and this alone makes both sexes easily identifiable.
The male Pseudagrion gamblesi is one of three ‘Yellow-faced’ sprite species in the region. The other two being the Yellow-faced Sprite (Pseudagrion citricola) and the Springwater Sprite (Pseudagrion caffrum). The Great Sprite is significantly larger than these two species and has a distinctly striped thorax, large postocular spots, brighter blue terminal segments, and noticeably large claspers.
In terms of colouration, females resemble many others of the genus, but can be safely identified based on their larger size.
Click here for more details on identification.
Habitat
The Great Sprite frequents large, flowing rivers and streams in the mid-altitude, eastern parts of South Africa. It favours rocky river pools flanked by tall grasses, forbs, and reeds.
Photo by Sharon Stanton
Behaviour
The Great Sprite is a fairly sluggish species that spends long periods perched on reed and grass stems over the water.
It is most active from late September to April, but flies all year at some sites (See Phenology below).
Status and Conservation
The Great Sprite is highly localised and generally scarce, but may be fairly common in places. It is listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Pseudagrion gamblesi is fairly sensitive to habitat degradation and occurs mostly along undisturbed stretches of river.
Distribution
The Great Sprite occurs in Southern, South-Central, and East Africa. It has been recorded from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. In South Africa, it is found primarily in the east in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Great Sprite in the OdonataMAP database as at February 2020.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Great Sprite in the OdonataMAP database as of December 2024.
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
Further Resources
The use of photographs by Alan Manson and Sharon Stanton is acknowledged.
Great Sprite Pseudagrion gamblesi Pinhey, 1978
Other common names: Gamble’s Sprite (Alt. English); Grootgesie (Afrikaans)
Recommended citation format: Loftie-Eaton M; Navarro R; Tippett RM; Underhill L. 2025. Great Sprite Pseudagrion gamblesi. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2020/05/18/great-sprite-pseudagrion-gamblesi/
References: Tarboton, M; Tarboton, W. (2019). A Guide to the Dragonflies & Damselflies of South Africa. Struik Nature.
Samways, MJ. (2008). Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa. Pensoft
Samways, MJ. (2016). Manual of Freshwater Assessment for South Africa: Dragonfly Biotic Index. Suricata 2. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria
