General: Desert Forktail (Ischnura barberi) are very small damselflies. Males are green overall with black atop the abdomen and blue on the end of the tail (abdominal segments 8 and 9). The black dorsal stripe is wide, and the black shoulder stripe is wide at the front and pinches down at the back. These two stripes are separated by yellow, and the side of the thorax is green. Small blue eye-spots are connected by a narrow blue line. Females are similar to male or all tan with a narrow dorsal stripe.

These active creatures are harmless to humans, but they are voracious predators of small flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes. There are some good places for Watching Damselflies Around Las Vegas.

Taxonomy: Order Odonata, Suborder Zygoptera, Family Coenagrionidae.