Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Dragonflies and damselflies
Sticker of Western forktail
Bug card No. 4680 of 4,939

Western forktail

Ischnura perparva
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsDragonflies and damselfliesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The western forktail is a small, slim damselfly from North America. Damselflies are thin cousins of dragonflies. It flies low over ponds and streams looking for tiny insects to catch.

Lives in
Western North America, near ponds and streams
Top speed
about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It has no sting and does not hurt people.
What does it eat?
It catches small flying insects. Its babies live in water and hunt tiny water animals.
For real!Photo of Western forktail
Picture by Ken-ichi Ueda. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

There are plenty of them, and scientists say they are not in danger.

2

Its closest cousin is another damselfly called the Pacific forktail.

3

Like all damselflies, its babies grow up under water before they learn to fly.

you asked

Most asked questions about Western forktail

?Is the western forktail endangered?

No. There are many of them and their numbers are steady.

?Is a forktail a dragonfly?

It is a damselfly, a thinner cousin of the dragonfly.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Ischnura perparva
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Coenagrionidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Coenagrionidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Ischnura perparva (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Ken-ichi Ueda. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Emperor dragonflyDragonflies and damselfliesCommon whitetailDragonflies and damselfliesGreen darnerDragonflies and damselfliesEbony jewelwingDragonflies and damselfliesGlobe skimmerDragonflies and damselfliesBlue dasherDragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

Hairy-horned springtail-hunterBeetlesSmall red sedgeOther insectsWillow apple gall sawflyWasps and hornetsChevrolat's dytiscidBeetlesMulsant's water treaderTrue bugs and cicadasMarsh click beetleBeetles
Honey jarfor grown-ups