This is a very small, delicate damselfly, about 1 inch in length. The male is black with pale green markings on the face, thorax and the underside of the first and second abdominal segments. The green shoulder stripes are broken into dots and dashes which form a pair of exclamation points. Also, there are no blue markings at the tip of the abdomen. The female is similar to the male except she is black with blue marks on the face and thorax. She also has a broken shoulder stripe. The wings are clear with black stigmas.
The Fragile Forktail was first found in Fontenelle Forest on 7/18/2001. it was found regularly in small numbers from early summer to fall along the south and north stream and along the south end of the wetlands boardwalk by the Great Marsh viewing blind in Fontenelle Forest until 2011. After the 2011 flood the vegetation was scoured away in the Great Marsh and few odonates were seen there in 2012. In the wetlands area there were 2 sightings of single male Fragile Forktails and 2 sightings of a pair along the stream and one sighting of a single male at the teaching pond in 2012. There was also a sighting of a single male in the small pond in front of the Nature Center.
It is found in shady areas among thick vegetation. The similar Eastern Forktail is a little larger with solid shoulder stripes and the male has blue coloration at the end of the abdomen.
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