Pre-fabricated dining shelters as outdoor insectaries, an assessment using Enallagma ebrium (Hagen) (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)

Problems with housing adult damselflies include unnatural responses to being caged and prohibitive costs of outdoor cages. Here, a relatively inexpensive method, using pre-fabricated tents as outdoor inseclaries, is presented. These tents do not adversely affect flying, foraging, mate searching, and mating of damselflies. Survival rates of pre-reproductive adults were also high (100% survival of teneral females for the entire pre-reproductive period in 1 of 2 trials). Outdoor insectaries also have been used successfully for housing other spp., inch E. boreale Sel. and Nehalennia irene (Hag.).