The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
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North Carolina's 189 Odonate species
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Related Species in LIBELLULIDAE: Number of records added in 2021 = 2

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[View PDF]		Red-veined Pennant (Celithemis bertha) by Mark Shields
Compare with:   Distinctive
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Click on county for list of all its records for Red-veined Pennant
flight charts
distribution Scattered over nearly all of the Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont; a few records for the southwestern Piedmont (Catawba and Cleveland counties), plus outliers in the southwestern mountains (Clay and Graham counties). Found primarily in the southern half of the Coastal Plain (sporadic north of Harnett and Pitt counties). NC lies at the northern edge of the species' range, but it has been recorded once in VA, in 2014 (as a stray?).
abundance Uncommon to locally fairly common in the southern half of the Coastal Plain; rare in the northern half of the Coastal Plain and the extreme eastern Piedmont; very rare farther west.
flight In the Coastal Plain, the flight occurs from mid- or late May to early October; however, the earliest record for the Piedmont isn't until late June. The three mountain records with dates are from late June to early August.
habitat Primarily at ponds and lakes with much emergent vegetation along the shore.

See also Habitat Account for Coastal Plain Herbaceous Ponds and Sloughs
behavior Unlike most other Celithemis pennants, adults seldom stray far from ponds or small lakes, and may forage well out in the water and perch on logs and other material emerging from the water.
comments Though a common species, apparently, in FL (Dunkle 2000), it is not common northward. Beaton (2007) calls it "Uncommon below the Fall Line" in GA, and as NC lies at the northern edge of the species' range, it is no more numerous here (unlike the Amanda's Pennant, which is more common in NC than in GA). Despite it having been found in more than one-third of the counties in NC, including all in the southern Coastal Plain, it and the Double-ringed Pennant are the only ones (of seven species) in the genus that are not common (at least locally) in the state. It is most likely to be seen by working the margins of beaver ponds and man-made ponds in the Sandhills region. A surprising count of 15, documented by several photos, was made in the northeastern Piedmont in Granville County, in 2013.
state_status
S_rank S4
fed_status
G_rank G5
date_spread [Overwinter:] [Date Spread:] [No Late Date:] [Split on Feb:] [Default:]
synonym
other_name
Species account update: on 2021-02-08 15:40:10
Photo Gallery for Red-veined Pennant   15 photos are shown. Other NC Galleries:    Jeff Pippen    Will Cook    Ted Wilcox
Photo 1 by: B. Bockhahn, K. Kittelberger

Comment: Moore; C, 2020-07-20, Reservoir Park		Photo 2 by: Pat Momich

Comment: Graham, 2020-06-29, Lake Santeetlah
Photo 3 by: R. Emmitt

Comment: Richmond; C, 2019-06-15, Broad Acres Lake - all teneral		Photo 4 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Scotland, 2018-09-03, Scotland Lake, Sandhills Game Land
Photo 5 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Brunswick, 2018-08-26, Boiling Spring Lakes - Spring Lake Park		Photo 6 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Chowan, 2018-06-09, Edenton National Fish Hatchery. First record for county.
Photo 7 by: Mike Turner

Comment: Bladen, 2017-05-20, Jones Lake State Park - 2 adult males and 1 ovipositing female		Photo 8 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Columbus, 2016-07-22, Lake Waccamaw, southern end between dam and pier
Photo 9 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Onslow, 2016-06-12, Stones Creek Game Land		Photo 10 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Pamlico, 2015-09-04, Upper Broad Creek at Lee
Photo 11 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Bladen, 2015-08-23, Jones Lake State Park; circumnavigated lake in a kayak		Photo 12 by: Mike Turner

Comment: Granville, 2013-08-15, Lake Butner (Holt Lake) - 14 males, 1 pair in tandem
Photo 13 by: Mike Turner

Comment: Granville, 2013-08-15, Lake Butner (Holt Lake) - 14 males, 1 pair in tandem		Photo 14 by: E. Corey

Comment: Bladen, 2008-06-03, female
Photo 15 by: R Emmitt

Comment: Scotland, 2002-06-08, Cameron Lake, Female "spotted form"