Small damselflies that normally perch with wings closed above the abdomen. Most males are blue marked with black, but the main colour may be green, yellow, orange, red or purple. Females often have two colour forms per species, one similar to the male (usually blue). Females lay eggs in the tissues of water plants, sometimes completely submerging themselves for a long time while laying. Larave are not as long as spreadwing larave and have short labia, unstalked at the base. There are six genera and 18 species of pond damsels in our region. The American Bluets (Enallagma) and forktails (Ischnura) are the most common groups.
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Inconspicuous but common in suitable habitat; flies weakly in dense grasses and sedges. Most abundant in sedge meadows and lakes bordered by sedges. While laying eggs in floating plants, the female perches horizontally and the male, clasping her thorax with the tip of his abdomen, holds himself stiffly at a 45° angle.
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