This diminutive forktail is approximately 1 inch long. The eyes of the male are yellow in front and green behind with a large black cap. There are tiny blue eyespots on the back of the eye. The thorax is black on top and green on the sides. The abdomen is mostly yellow with some black spots on the top. The last 3 segments are all yellow. The forewing stigmas are red and an unusual triangular shape. The hindwing stigmas are tan. The male is the only damselfly that has the forewing stigma separated from the leading edge of the wing. The immature female is mostly orange. The adult female is green and black on the thorax. Her abdomen is black on top and yellow underneath. Her eyes are green with a brown cap and prominent black band across the top.
The Citrine Forktail is uncommon to rare in Fontenelle Forest. There have been two sightings in Fontenelle Forest. A male was photographed in Child’s Hollow in early October and a female was photographed in Mormon Hollow in late October. It is found at ponds with dense vegetation, grassy seepages and quiet stream backwaters.
Most females mate only once and use the sperm of that male to fertilize all the eggs they lay. The species is thinly distributed in the southern Great Plains. It ranges south to Venezuela and is widespread in the East north to Wisconsin and Maine.
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