Rambur's Forktail

Damselflies are colorful, living jewels that tend to be difficult to spot because of their size and where and how they live their lives. They’re creatures of wetlands, places with still or slow moving waters, and they often hide under vegetation.

Rambur’s forktail, Ischnura ramburii, is one of the exceptions in that it spends much of its time in the open where it can show off its assortment of greens, sky-blues and oranges.

Rambur’s is one of the most widespread of damselfly species in the country, and one of the most commonly seen in the Southeast. Its range extends as far north as the New England states, south to Florida and as far west as Arizona. It’s found throughout the Sunshine State.

Rambur’s natural range also extends through Mexico, the Caribbean and South America as far south as Chile. It’s also found in Hawaii.

First, a word about damselflies. They are somewhat similar to dragonflies, have similar life cycles and live in similar places but are smaller, less stout, with needle-like bodies and big bulging eyes relative to the rest of its body. Unlike dragonflies, they generally fold their wings back when they perch rather than hold them out to the sides. They are members of the same taxonomic order, Ordonta. Both dragonflies and damselflies are ancient creatures, evolving some 200 million years ago.

Rambur’s forktail is an insect of different looks, technically called polymorphism. Not only do males and females have different characteristics (dimorphism), females vary in appearance.

Rambur’s forktails go from about an inch to an inch-and-a-quarter long (27 to 36 millimeters), the guys more colorful than the females. The guys are also are territorial.

Males have bright green eyes and a sky-blue thorax, the middle portion of the body. The definitive tell on male Rambur’s is the eighth segment of the abdomen, which will be completely sky-blue, like the thorax. The ninth segment will be partially blue.


Females come in any one of three color patterns and two forms. There are those with orange thoraxes, as seen in most of the photos on this page and those with dull or olive green thoraxes. These are so-called gynomorphs, meaning they look like females.

There are also andromorphs, females that mimic males in looks and behavior. They have the sky-blue thorax but lack the telling blue in the abdomenal segments.

Scientists have theorized that andromorphism evolved as a way of discouraging unwanted male suitors. While it’s advantageous from an evolutionary standpoint for a male Rambur’s to mate with as many females as possible, there is no such advantage for females. They carry only so many eggs, and once those eggs have been fertilized, that’s it. Why bother mating when they could be doing other things, like eating, laying eggs and avoiding predators. By looking like the guys, they’re more likely to be treated like other guys and ignored sexually, giving them an advantage.

Or maybe not. One study published way back in 2001 found there was no benefit for andromorphic females mainly because the additional sexual “attention” the gynomorphs experienced didn’t prove to be a disadvantage.

One more note on appearance: the looks on Rambur’s forktails also vary by age.

Rambur’s forktails take to the edges of still or slow-moving bodies of waters, ponds, creeks, canals and wetlands, places with dense vegetation. As we noted above, they will spend more time in the open than other damselflies. They are hunters, and despite their slim build, will attack prey as big as themselves. They are active, or in flight, all year in Florida, but are more seasonal farther north.

Globally, the Rambur’s forktail population is secure, but is considered imperiled or critically imperiled in parts of their range, particularly in northern states. There is no data or rating for Florida’s population, but by our completely unscientific observations, Rambur’s is quite common.

And who is Rambur? Jules Pierre Rambur, a 19th century French entomologist whose most famous work involved identifying species of butterflies by examining differences in genitalia. His most important work, however, involved members of Ordonta.

Rambur’s forktails are members of Coenagrionidae, the family of pond or narrow-winged damselflies.

Green Cay Nature Center