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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Damselflies (Zygoptera) » Narrow-winged Damselflies (Coenagrionidae) » Forktails (Ischnura) » Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)

Species Ischnura verticalis - Eastern Forktail

Classification · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Damsemfly 3 - Ischnura verticalis - female

Hunter (or: Midge Massacre V, death from beside) - Ischnura verticalis - female

Eastern forktail - immature female - Ischnura verticalis - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Suborder Zygoptera (Damselflies)

Family Coenagrionidae (Narrow-winged Damselflies)

Genus Ischnura (Forktails)

Species verticalis (Eastern Forktail)

Size

22-30 mm

Identification

Small green, black and blue damselflies.

MALE: Thorax black above, with green shoulder stripes; pale green sides.

Abdomen mostly black, with blue tip (on segments 8 & 9) and thin pale rings; black spots on sides of blue tip.

Eyes dark above, greenish below, with small green eyespots.

Some males with posita-like broken stripe:

FEMALE: Mature females powdery grayish-blue throughout, with black markings absent or obscured; eyespots pale blue.

Immature female thorax bright orange with black dorsal and shoulder stripes; abdomen orange at base and black above, with no blue or orange at tip; orange eyespots. (1)

Teneral:

Ed Lam lists some unusual female pattern variations on page 81

Range

From the Atlantic coast to the Midwest U.S. From north of Florida to Southern Canada.

Habitat

A variety of wetlands, but most common at small well-vegetated ponds. (1)

Season

Spring-early fall

Food

predaceous

See Also

Ishnura perparva, or the Western Forktail. Western and Eastern Forktails are virtually identical and best told by range. (1)

Print References

"Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies", pages 70-71 (1)

Internet References

The Insects of Cedar Creek has info and photos of pinned adults.

Raphael Carter's Home Page has a nice article on I. verticalis complete with several photos.

Gloria Mundi Press has photos of adults as well as scanned specimens.

Works Cited

1.	Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies Donald and Lillian Stokes. 2002. Little, Brown and Company.

Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi on 18 July, 2004 - 10:38pm
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban
Last updated 25 May, 2011 - 3:50pm

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