Complete Guide To The Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly
Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly
Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly Images
Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly Ischnura ramburii. Insect. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly Ischnura ramburii. Insect. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
How To Identify Rambur’s Forktail Damselflies
- Rambur’s Forktail damselflies grow to 1.4 inches (36 mm) in total body length and 0.75 (19 mm) hind wing length.
- Mature male Rambur’s Forktail damselflies have:
- Two-toned eyes that black above and green below.
- A pair of tiny, sky blue spots behind their eyes.
- Green thoraxes with wide black stripes.
- Black abdomens with yellow sides.
- Abdominal segment S8 is blue.
- Abdominal segments S9-S10 are black on top and blue on the sides.
- Clear wings with blue-edged pterostigmas.
- Female Rambur’s Forktail damselflies vary in appearance.
- Some resemble males.
- Others are tan, orange, or olive green with brown or reddish eyes and no post-ocular spots.
Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly Notes
- Look for Rambur’s Forktail damselflies throughout North Carolina.
- They live in a wide variety of habitats, and are more abundant closer to the coast.
- Like all odonates, Rambur’s Forktail damselflies are predators of flying insects.
- Female Rambur’s Forktails are especially aggressive predators. They prey on other damselflies—including other Rambur’s Forktails—and especially tenerals (Paulson 2011).
- Rambur’s Forktail damselflies are slightly unusual in that they mate for many hours at a time. The males maintain contact with the females to ensure that they fertilize the females’ eggs and contribute their genes to the next generation.
Rambur’s Forktail Damselfly Classification
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda |
|
Class |
Insecta |
|
Order |
Odonata |
|
Family |
Coenagrionidae (Pond Damsel Family) |
|
Genus |
Ischnura |
|
Species |
I. ramburii |
Binomial Name |
Ischnura ramburii |
