diff --git a/coordinator/shard_mapper.go b/coordinator/shard_mapper.go
index 6c0b402414..ff28ae326a 100644
--- a/coordinator/shard_mapper.go
+++ b/coordinator/shard_mapper.go
@@ -181,8 +181,9 @@ func (a *LocalShardMapping) CreateIterator(m *influxql.Measurement, opt query.It
 	return sg.CreateIterator(m.Name, opt)
 }
 
-// Close does nothing for a LocalShardMapping.
+// Close clears out the list of mapped shards.
 func (a *LocalShardMapping) Close() error {
+	a.ShardMap = nil
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/query/compile.go b/query/compile.go
index b4d83e401d..c70387e5ec 100644
--- a/query/compile.go
+++ b/query/compile.go
@@ -65,23 +65,25 @@ func (c *compiledStatement) Prepare(shardMapper ShardMapper, sopt SelectOptions)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	defer shards.Close()
 
 	// Rewrite wildcards, if any exist.
 	stmt, err := c.stmt.RewriteFields(shards)
 	if err != nil {
+		shards.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	// Determine base options for iterators.
 	opt, err := newIteratorOptionsStmt(stmt, sopt)
 	if err != nil {
+		shards.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	if sopt.MaxBucketsN > 0 && !stmt.IsRawQuery {
 		interval, err := stmt.GroupByInterval()
 		if err != nil {
+			shards.Close()
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
@@ -93,6 +95,7 @@ func (c *compiledStatement) Prepare(shardMapper ShardMapper, sopt SelectOptions)
 			// Determine the number of buckets by finding the time span and dividing by the interval.
 			buckets := (last - first + int64(interval)) / int64(interval)
 			if int(buckets) > sopt.MaxBucketsN {
+				shards.Close()
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("max-select-buckets limit exceeded: (%d/%d)", buckets, sopt.MaxBucketsN)
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/query/select.go b/query/select.go
index 89ac933757..d35f6962f8 100644
--- a/query/select.go
+++ b/query/select.go
@@ -38,6 +38,13 @@ type ShardMapper interface {
 
 // ShardGroup represents a shard or a collection of shards that can be accessed
 // for creating iterators.
+// When creating iterators, the resource used for reading the iterators should be
+// separate from the resource used to map the shards. When the ShardGroup is closed,
+// it should not close any resources associated with the created Iterator. Those
+// resources belong to the Iterator and will be closed when the Iterator itself is
+// closed.
+// The query engine operates under this assumption and will close the shard group
+// after creating the iterators, but before the iterators are actually read.
 type ShardGroup interface {
 	IteratorCreator
 	influxql.FieldMapper
@@ -48,6 +55,11 @@ type ShardGroup interface {
 type PreparedStatement interface {
 	// Select creates the Iterators that will be used to read the query.
 	Select() ([]Iterator, []string, error)
+
+	// Close closes the resources associated with this prepared statement.
+	// This must be called as the mapped shards may hold open resources such
+	// as network connections.
+	Close() error
 }
 
 // Prepare will compile the statement with the default compile options and
@@ -67,13 +79,18 @@ func Select(stmt *influxql.SelectStatement, shardMapper ShardMapper, opt SelectO
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
+	// Must be deferred so it runs after Select.
+	defer s.Close()
 	return s.Select()
 }
 
 type preparedStatement struct {
-	stmt    *influxql.SelectStatement
-	opt     IteratorOptions
-	ic      IteratorCreator
+	stmt *influxql.SelectStatement
+	opt  IteratorOptions
+	ic   interface {
+		IteratorCreator
+		io.Closer
+	}
 	columns []string
 }
 
@@ -85,6 +102,10 @@ func (p *preparedStatement) Select() ([]Iterator, []string, error) {
 	return itrs, p.columns, nil
 }
 
+func (p *preparedStatement) Close() error {
+	return p.ic.Close()
+}
+
 func buildIterators(stmt *influxql.SelectStatement, ic IteratorCreator, opt IteratorOptions) ([]Iterator, error) {
 	// Retrieve refs for each call and var ref.
 	info := newSelectInfo(stmt)