Dragonflies

Hamilton Marsh has been identified as an exceptional dragonfly habitat.
Dr. Robert A Cannings is Curator of Entomology at the Royal British Columbia Museum. He has studied dragonflies for 30 years and is the author of many popular and technical publications on dragonflies.

Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odanata)

See Dr. Canning’s report: The Odanata of Hamilton Marsh - Rob Cannings, Royal BC Museum.

The trends in dragonfly biogeography on eastern Vancouver Island are exemplified at Hamilton Marsh. The region is a crossroads of a number of faunal elements: boreal, cordilleran, austral, and widespread North American. As far as Odonata are concerned, the marsh’s value lies in the diversity of these geographical elements that it supports as well as its relative rarity as a peatland habitat on the dry east side of the Island. It harbours at least a few uncommon species. The list below is incomplete; several species not listed are expected to occur with more extensive collecting.