Fragile forktail
This damselfly can be told apart from every other forktail by a single pale mark on each side of its thorax shaped like a tiny exclamation point.
| Where | Ponds, ditches and slow streams |
|---|---|
| Size | 21 to 29 mm body length |
| When | March to September |
The Fragile forktail is a small, mostly dark damselfly with narrow, broken green shoulder stripes on the thorax that look like exclamation marks, a pattern unique among North American forktails.
It is often among the first damselflies to appear in spring at ponds, ditches and slow streams, and mature females turn pale blue-grey rather than the bright orange or blue seen in related species.
Traits
Habitat
Wetland
Colour
Green, Black, Blue
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; does not bite or sting.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar small size, but the male Citrine forktail is mostly yellow with a black-capped head, rather than the mostly dark, green-striped pattern of the Fragile forktail.
Questions
Is the Fragile forktail dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; does not bite or sting.
When can you see the Fragile forktail?
The Fragile forktail can be seen from March to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Laura Gaudette, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Dragonflies and damselflies›Narrow-winged damselflies›Ischnura
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.