#fragile forktail

[sandpaperoctopi]

dragons and damsels

[hemelytra]

fragile forktail

[arthropodopolis]

I was so very happy this lovely fellow sat still long enough for a photo 💚

Fragile forktail damselfly, Ischnura posita

[cilginfizikcilervbi]

“Açıkgöz Kız Böceği” Temiz Su Peşinde

“Açıkgöz Kız Böceği” Temiz Su Peşinde İnsanların estetik anlayışına göre çirkin sayılsa da böcek dünyasının en gazalıcı böceklerinden biri olan “açıkgöz kız böceği” (damselfly-Ischnura posita / Fragile forktail) Kuzey Amerika’da göletlerin, nehirlerin çevresinde yaşarlar. Ne var ki çevre kirliliği nedeniyle nüfusları azalmış bulunuyor. Bunun nedeni larvalarını yalnızca temiz sulara…

[chameleocoonj]

owl moth + fragile forktail

[horsebeast]

fragile forktail Ischnura posita, eating a leafhopper nymph

[squire-jaybird]

Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita)

[cappagedraws]

I am always here to talk bugs

This is the fragile forktail, and they're part of the damselfly family! They get their names because of they are very small, barely over an inch, which makes them extremely fragile, and they have that little forked extension at the end of their abdomen. It all depends on the species of course, but The males tend to be more colorful (the first one) however females start out orange, then as they mature they turn towards a more slate color (the third picture)!

EEEEE ODONATA MY BELOVED!!!!!

They're so freaking cool! Their larval stage is one of the most interestings in the world! The diversity between different species is impeccable!! (I'm personally partial to the Emperor Dragonfly, their colors are so striking <3<3<3)

My favorite bugs in the world are the Ironclad Beetles!!! They're a subspecies of about 20ish that have insanely strong exoskeletons, and are nearly impossible to crush or stab!!! (Fun fact, in order to be able to pin or mount these guys you need to first drill a hole in order to get the pin in it lol) They're so strong cause basically their entire exoskeleton is made up of two jigsaw puzzle-like sections that are fit extremely tight together that help distribute pressure evenly.

This is the diabolical ironclad beetle, it's one of, if not the strongest of the ironclads!! We have them where I'm from, I don't see them very often tho :(

This is the blue feigning death beetle, they're just a personal favorite, look how pretty they are!

[speakingofnature]

At close to 20 mm in length this male Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) is one of the smallest species of damselfly found here in Iowa.

[celestialmacros]

Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita)

April 22, 2019

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Tinicum, Pennsylvania

[arcticarthropod]

Fragile forktail damselfly Toughness is overrated anyway.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Fragile Forktail - Ischnura posita

Here’s an unexpected find from High Park. Now, when I say unexpected, I mean that it’s only upon closer inspection that I realized what this insect’s specie actually was. In terms of color and body shape, it looks quite similar to its close relative, the male Eastern Forktail. It’s not really fair to compare every similar insect I find to the Eastern Forktail, but with its variability in color and how common it seems to be, it’s hard not to. In any case, this Damselfly is definitely a different specie! The distinguishing characteristic for this Damselfly can be found on its shoulders: the stripes on them are shaped like exclamation marks! Certainly makes a statement (and makes them easy to identify) for both males and females, both have these markings, but females are colored blue...just like the Eastern Forktail. That said, images I’ve seen online highlight that the marking is more prominent in males.

Not really much else to say about this Damselfly in terms of characteristics that have already been said before for previous Odonates. They hunt smaller insects and catch them in the air, ripping them apart using their mandibles. They usually fly around bodies of water to hunt; this individual was found near Grenadier Pond actually. It’s interesting how in that environment it’s forced to complete with all varieties of Bluets and various Dragonflies like the Eastern Pondhawk (among others), and yet it’s still carved itself a little slice of the pie within its food chain. Sites like Bugguide state that this Damselfly is fairly common within its range, but I’ve found more of all the other species compared to this one. Strange. I probably just need to take some more trips to High Park to be sure and obtain a larger wildlife survey, so to speak. If you can plan on finding these Odonates, look among the plants by the water’s edge. Maybe along with these exclamation marks, you might find a Question Mark as well? 

Pictures were taken on July 10, 2019 in High Park with a Samsung Galaxy S4

[picothenico]

[fernscare]

A fragile forktail (Ischnura posita) eatin’ a midge.

[ID: a black-and-green damselfly sitting on a green leaf, holding a midge in its mouth and front legs.]

[whales-are-gay]

garden updates! fuck ground ivy. i didnt even get rid of half of it there’s just so much everywhere, and it keeps increasing every year

ummm so today we turned the beds and covered em w soil & manure (before n after comparison)

and also i saw several little guys!! (fragile forktail and blue spotted salamander)

[jaskiersvalley]

Im thoroughly enjoying jaskier educating the witchers and each installation as been an absolute pleasure to read; would you please, please write jaskier teaching them to enjoy their skill? expand on the third installation? I understand that muses are fickle things so ignore me if yours isn't present; no pressure. Thank you so much for your wonderful work!

Any excuse to write more illiterate witchers. My love goes out to you, Nonnie, for being the best enabler. As for enjoying their skill…this might have gone in a tiny bit of a different direction.

Winters became something the witchers looked forward to. A couple of months to just be themselves without worry, without the constant threat of being run out of town. Before Jaskier, they used to try and leave it as long as possible to return, avoiding the other witchers as much as possible. Now though, it was as soon as acceptable to rest from the trudge along their path, they were there.

So nobody expected to hear Jaskier hollering from the mountainside, voice breaking as he tried to get attention. It sounded suspiciously like “help”. Lambert and Eskel were on their horses in an instant, riding hard to find their bard and hoped they weren’t too help with whatever ill had befallen him.

It wasn’t Jaskier in trouble. It was Geralt. He was propped up against a tree, bleeding sluggishly and giving Jaskier a fierce scowl.

“I’ll be fine,” he grumbled, even as he turned to look at his brothers approaching.

“Fine? You have a forktail dive bomb you, lift you above the trees, only to drop you again. I watched your leg snap like a twig!”

Now that Lambert looked, he could see where it was still a little twisted, not quite in line. That was going to hurt like a bitch.

“How did a forktail get the drop on you?” Eskel was crouching down next to Geralt and poking at the bite on his shoulder.

An uncomfortable silence followed and even Jaskier wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes as he shuffled a little. Lambert and Eskel looked between them.

“Were you seriously getting it on in the woods so close to home?” Lambert asked, disbelief pitching his voice higher than usual.

“No!” Both Jaskier and Geralt looked mortified and offended by the very idea.

“Why would I risk nettle to the bollocks like that when we have a perfectly good bed not an hour’s ride away?” Jaskier scoffed. Much more quietly, he added, “Geralt was defending me.”

It transpired that Jaskier had thought he was being helpful as Geralt fought the forktail but all he had really been was a distraction and underfoot. When the forktail had turned from Geralt to Jaskier, the only option had been for Geralt to bodily shove his bard out of the way and take the bite to the shoulder. If he hadn’t, Jaskier’s head would have been forktail snack.

It was a bit of a painful ride back, Geralt gritted his teeth as Lambert urged his horse to carry them while Eskel took a slightly more leisurely pace behind them, Jaskier atop of Roach.

“I only wanted to help,” he sniffed, a little disheartened.

“I know, Geralt knows, hell, I think the whole of Kaer Morhen knows. But maybe it’s time we taught you something for a change.”

While recovery was faster for a witcher than a regular human, it still took Geralt a good few weeks to be back on his feet. Whether it was good or not was a matter of opinion, he looked better rested than Jaskier had ever seen him before. By contrast, Jaskier was exhausted by the end of each day. As a group, the witchers had decided it was a great idea to teach Jaskier how to defend himself.

While Jaskier had been a kind and patient teacher, only taking an hour of the day for learning, the others weren’t as considerate. Lambert barged into the room at the crack of dawn and all but dragged Jaskier from the bed. Geralt grumbled and snarled until the blanket was returned then he went back to sleep like the disloyal bastard he was. Jaskier couldn’t quite forgive him until he hobbled down to the training hall with lunch in hand and made no comment about how disgustingly sweaty Jaskier was. Because Lambert was teaching him hand to hand combat.

By contrast, the afternoons were taken up by Eskel. At first, it was all theory about blades and their uses, designs and advantages over each other. That bit, Jaskier actually enjoyed. Then a training sword was shoved in his hand and the hard work started.

Evenings found Jaskier barely able to stand or lift his arms. So they were spent by the fire with Vesemir who taught him poisons. Which, actually Jaskier already knew a fair chunk about. He didn’t grow up in courts filled with back stabbings and assassinations for nothing. Some of his knowledge was new to Vesemir so they traded recipes and tips on best ways to discreetly off someone.

Geralt was a silent shadow through his day. Sometimes he would offer a comment or two on his form or suggested moves to try and best Lambert or Eskel. Most of those tips were dirty tactics, revealing that Lambert was surprisingly ticklish on his sides or that Eskel’s left knee didn’t always take his weight so was vulnerable. Which was how Jaskier truly learned that fighting wasn’t a noble or fair thing. The duels in courts for honour were more a charade and an act rather than a real fight.

The end of winter saw the witchers and Jaskier in a pile, Geralt healed up and bundling into the rough and tumble that had become the norm. They’d learned that Jaskier wasn’t as fragile as they feared humans to be while Jaskier learned how to protect himself and fight. Vesemir showed him the books on monsters. It was a crash course in self-defence, Jaskier wasn’t by any means on the same level as a witcher. But now, if they were ambushed or attacked, Geralt didn’t have to worry about him. Instead, Jaskier could sometimes even help. Their partnership had come a long way since that first meeting. And Jaskier loved it all almost as much as he loved Geralt.