Nebraska Dragonflies and Damselflies

Western Forktail

Ischnura perparva

Selys, 1876

The Western Forktail male is greenish with black markings on the thorax and abdomen. The tip of the abdomen is blue. Females may be orange or brown and become olive green when mature.

This is a western species reaching east to central Nebraska. Thiscommon species is essentially identical to Eastern Forktail and the wholeNebraska range (western half of the state) is in the range ofEastern Forktail. The species are regularly found together even in pondswhere there are only a few individuals of each, but there is no evidence ofhybridization. Perhaps because of the difficulty of separating itfrom Eastern Forktail, there is only one county record east of the corerange. As with other Forktails, any pond or marshy area is potential habitat.

Green indicates accepted county record (specimen or photograph).
Yellow indicates sight record only.