Sphagnum Sprite (Nehalennia gracilis)
(c) Gilles Belliveau, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Gilles Belliveau · CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
Dragonflies and damselfliesIn Ohio

Sphagnum Sprite

Nehalennia gracilis Morse, 1895

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Odonata

Conservation status

Species of concern in Ohio (Ohio Division of Wildlife, June 2026)

Ohio's Division of Wildlife names it as one that might become threatened in Ohio under continued or increased stress, or one it has some concern for but too little information to judge. It is not listed as endangered or threatened.

We remember your county on this device only, until you clear it. Your ZIP code, city or location never leaves your device.

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 5 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (76)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (6)
  • Recorded, season not shown (1)
  • Season shown (5)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
Sphagnum Sprite by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Allen CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashtabula CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Athens CountyNo qualifying records yet
Auglaize CountyNo qualifying records yet
Belmont CountyNo qualifying records yet
Brown CountyNo qualifying records yet
Butler CountyNo qualifying records yet
Carroll CountyNo qualifying records yet
Champaign County38 · Season shown
Clark CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clermont CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Columbiana CountyNo qualifying records yet
Coshocton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Crawford CountyNo qualifying records yet
Cuyahoga CountyNo qualifying records yet
Darke CountyNo qualifying records yet
Defiance CountyNo qualifying records yet
Delaware CountyNo qualifying records yet
Erie CountyNo qualifying records yet
Fairfield CountyNo qualifying records yet
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yet
Franklin CountyNo qualifying records yet
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Gallia CountyNo qualifying records yet
Geauga CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Greene County43 · Season shown
Guernsey CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hamilton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hancock CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hardin CountyNo qualifying records yet
Harrison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Henry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Highland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hocking CountyNo qualifying records yet
Holmes CountyNo qualifying records yet
Huron CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Knox CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lake CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lawrence CountyNo qualifying records yet
Licking CountyNo qualifying records yet
Logan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lorain CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lucas CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Madison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mahoning CountyNo qualifying records yet
Marion CountyNo qualifying records yet
Medina CountyNo qualifying records yet
Meigs CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyNo qualifying records yet
Monroe CountyNo qualifying records yet
Montgomery CountyNo qualifying records yet
Morgan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Morrow CountyNo qualifying records yet
Muskingum CountyNo qualifying records yet
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ottawa CountyNo qualifying records yet
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pickaway CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yet
Portage County38 · Season shown
Preble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ross CountyNo qualifying records yet
Sandusky CountyNo qualifying records yet
Scioto CountyNo qualifying records yet
Seneca CountyNo qualifying records yet
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yet
Stark County36 · Season shown
Summit County20 · Recorded, season not shown
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Tuscarawas CountyNo qualifying records yet
Union CountyNo qualifying records yet
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Warren CountyNo qualifying records yet
Washington CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wayne County59 · Season shown
Williams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wood CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wyandot CountyNo qualifying records yet

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Late May to mid-July, middle week Jun 21–27

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 369 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 161 dates. Latest record: August 2025.

Show as a table
Records of Sphagnum Sprite in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Sphagnum SpriteYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10006,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28006,846
Mar 1–7008,321
Mar 8–140010,384
Mar 15–210012,620
Mar 22–280013,949
Mar 29 – Apr 40019,661
Apr 5–110026,860
Apr 12–180039,925
Apr 19–250041,623
Apr 26 – May 20056,391
May 3–90052,952
May 10–162153,785
May 17–233157,698
May 24–309354,651
May 31 – Jun 616653,099
Jun 7–1346853,700
Jun 14–20641056,625
Jun 21–2752855,361
Jun 28 – Jul 4701058,477
Jul 5–1144661,336
Jul 12–1831864,722
Jul 19–2519569,753
Jul 26 – Aug 14259,416
Aug 2–84359,712
Aug 9–154355,994
Aug 16–220054,328
Aug 23–291151,772
Aug 30 – Sep 50057,167
Sep 6–120059,075
Sep 13–190054,543
Sep 20–260045,860
Sep 27 – Oct 30043,180
Oct 4–100037,841
Oct 11–170030,824
Oct 18–240021,156
Oct 25–310019,021
Nov 1–70014,172
Nov 8–140012,621
Nov 15–21007,965
Nov 22–28008,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5006,083
Dec 6–12006,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2008,459

Reported as an adult

Usually reported as an adult late May to mid-July, middle week Jun 14–20.

From 26 records that are marked as adults. Not every photo is marked with a life stage, so this shows when people reported it as an adult, not when adults are about.

Reported as a larva

No records here are marked as larvae yet, so there is no larva season to show. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Relatives

In the same genus

Other Nehalennia recorded in Ohio

Identification

How to identify it

Often confused with

  • Sedge Sprite Nehalennia irene34 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Months not reported

  1. Jan: no record
  2. Feb: no record
  3. Mar: no record
  4. Apr: no record
  5. May: recorded
  6. Jun: recorded
  7. Jul: recorded
  8. Aug: recorded
  9. Sep: no record
  10. Oct: no record
  11. Nov: no record
  12. Dec: no record

Not reported in Ohio in September to April, 2016 to 2025.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Forest40%31%
Wetland32%5%
Developed24%49%
Open water2%3%
Farmland1%11%

From 144 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

369 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.