| Citrine forktail | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Coenagrionidae |
| Genus: | Ischnura |
| Species: | I. hastata |
| Binomial name | |
| Ischnura hastata (Say, 1839) | |
The citrine forktail (Ischnura hastata) is a damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae.
This species is 20–27 mm in length, and its hindwing is 11–15 mm long; it is thus considerably smaller than most European members of the genus Ischnura .
Adult males have a black head and thorax, with blue markings, and a largely yellow abdomen, with black markings on its upper surface. The term citrine refers to its yellowish colouration. Adult females are initially largely orange, marked with black above on the head and rear part of the abdomen. They undergo a colour change, through brown or olive to greyish, as they mature.
Male citrine forktails are the only damselflies in the world with the pterostigma situated away from the leading edge of the wing.
It is native to North and South America, and there is a population on the Azores. The Azorean population is likely to have been present since the late 19th Century, it was not identified as this species until 1990.
In North America, this species has a typical dragonfly life-history. However, the population on the Azores reproduces by parthenogenesis, making it the only population of Odonata anywhere in the world known to reproduce by this means. [2]
In the southern United States, adults are on the wing year-round, while farther north the flight season is from April to November, and in the Azores from May to August.
Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. The two groups are distinguished with dragonflies usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and wings folded together along body at rest. Adult odonates can land, but rarely walk.
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. Damselflies have existed since the Jurassic, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Enallagma cyathigerum is a species found mainly between latitudes 40°N and 72°N; It is widely distributed in the Palearctic, and the Nearctic species Enallagma annexum was at one time considered to be synonymous with it. The species can reach a length of 32 to 35 mm. It is common in many different countries including Russia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United States of America, and South Korea. Damselflies are an important link between the health of the aquatic ecosystem and its response to climate change.
The blue-tailed damselfly or common bluetail is a damselfly, belonging to the family Coenagrionidae.
The insect family Coenagrionidae is placed in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, making it the largest damselfly family. The family Coenagrionidae has six subfamilies: Agriocnemidinae, Argiinae, Coenagrioninae, Ischnurinae, Leptobasinae, and Pseudagrioninae.
Ischnura senegalensis, also known variously as common bluetail, marsh bluetail, ubiquitous bluetail, African bluetail, and Senegal golden dartlet, is a widespread damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. It is native from Africa, through the Middle East, to southern and eastern Asia.
Ischnura aurora, the gossamer damselfy or golden dartlet and also known as the aurora bluetail, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.
Ischnura is a genus of damselflies known as forktails in the family Coenagrionidae. Forktails are distributed worldwide, including various oceanic islands. The males have a forked projection at the tip of the abdomen which gives the group their common name.
Ischnura gemina is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae known by the common name San Francisco forktail. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area in California in the United States. This uncommon insect has a total range of less than 500 square miles in the Bay Area, occurring only in greater San Francisco and parts of San Mateo and Marin Counties. This species is "one of the rarest Odonates in the United States."
The scarce blue-tailed damselfly or small bluetail is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae.
Rambur's forktail is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae. Males are green with blue on abdominal segments 8 and 9. Females are orange-red, olive green, or similar to males in coloration. This is the most widespread New World Ischnura, occurring throughout the Americas from the United States to Chile, as well as Hawaii and the Antilles.
Eastern forktail is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae.
Ischnura erratica, the swift forktail, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is native to the Pacific Northwest, ranging from British Columbia to northern California.
Ischnura pruinescens is a damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae, commonly known as the colourful bluetail. The taxon has been assessed for the IUCN Red List as being of least concern and is listed in the Catalogue of Life.
Ischnura demorsa is a damselfly in the genus Ischnura ("forktails"), in the family Coenagrionidae. The species is known generally as the "Mexican forktail". The distribution range of Ischnura demorsa includes Central America and North America.
Ischnura rubilio, western golden dartlet, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Indian subcontinent and Iran.
Ischnura damula, the plains forktail, is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in North America.
Ischnura denticollis, the black-fronted forktail, is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
The Persian damselfly or Dumont's bluetail is a damselfly, belonging to the family Coenagrionidae.
