Walker, Edmond M. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska. 3 vols. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Volume One published in 1953
Volume Two published in 1958
Volume Three published in 1975 with additional author:

Walker, Edmond M., Philip S. Corbet. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska. Vol. 3. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1975.

This publication has been out of print until recently, and is now in reprint through the University of Toronto Press. Non-original covers, and pages are from high-resolution scans of original text.

Describes and keys out 189 of the 210 species of Odonata currently found in Canada and Alaksa (according to www.odonatacentral.org, 12/25/2008), with two additional species described (but not keyed) in the addenda of volume three.

A majority of the species names are up to date, twenty species have had their species name changed or were placed at subgenus level, and have been elevated to genus status.

Each of the 189 species has its own, very detailed description. Includes species name, author, synonyms, a brief summary of the description, then a detailed description of the male and female, wing venation, measurements of wings and abdomen, and a description of the naiad where possible. Also describes the habitat and range, distribution in Canada, field notes, and variations in species where possible.

The series contains 153 black and white plates, illustrating various physiological differences between similar species, including abdominal and thoracic markings, male and female terminal segments, hamuli, and illustrations of naiads and their identifying characteristics.

Reader's notes: This is an amazing text, I have yet to come across a more detailed and useful text on northern Odonata. I was able to check this text out through the Hilton Briggs Library in Brookings, SD for two summers while I studied odonates for the Minnesota Odonata Survey Project, and it was an invaluable text when trying to get to species on harder-to-identify groups. Very good resouce for identifying female Enallagma and individuals of Sympetrum. It is a bit on the expensive side, but for anyone who is very interested in Odonatology, this is an excellent series to have.

Available through the Toronto Entomologists' Association