Bug FAQEastern Forktail
Ischnura verticalis · Order: Odonata · Family: Coenagrionidae
The Eastern Forktail is a small damselfly about 22 to 30 mm long. It lives in wetlands such as small ponds, slow streams and marshes across the eastern United States into southern Canada. Adults are on the wing from late June to early October, sometimes from early April to early November.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Body length ranges from 22 to 30 mm (0.87 to 1.18 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It looks very similar to the Western Forktail, Ischnura perparva.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 45 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Coenagrionidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_forktail
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.