Rambur's Forktail

Rambur's Forktail

Ischnura ramburii

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Everglades National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

408 Verified sightings at Everglades National Park From 2019 to 2026
776 In all 12 parks
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rambur's Forktail

Rambur's forktail (Ischnura ramburii) is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae. Males are green with blue on abdominal segments 8 and 9. Females are orange-red, olive green, or similar to males in coloration. This is the most widespread New World Ischnura, occurring throughout the Americas from the United States to Chile, as well as Hawaii and the Antilles. The damselfly is a beneficial insect which is a predator of mosquitos and other insects and is not harmful to humans.

Ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow streams with vegetation and sunlight are its main habitat. Damselfly nymphs never live in salt water, but I. ramburii nymphs have been observed in brackish and even sulphurous waters. John Edward Lloyd qualified the mating of this species as "enigmatic": the male grasps the female's head with the terminal appendages of its abdomen while the female seeks and absorbs the sperm with its gonopore. He hypothesised that this "wheel" could have evolved in order to prevent females from escaping during the copulation.

Edmond de Sélys Longchamps named this damselfly in honor of Jules Pierre Rambur, an entomologist 12 years his senior. Rambur... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
2 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
4 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
5 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~20%
6 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
7 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
8 Padre Island National Seashore 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
11 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
12 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Santo Domingo 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~20%
2 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Orlando 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Houston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Lima 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
7 Dallas 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Phoenix 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Mesa 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 San Antonio 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rambur's Forktail in Everglades National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rambur's Forktail sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 408 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 496 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rambur's Forktail in Everglades National Park?

November

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Rambur's Forktail in Everglades National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June, the lowest month. That is one of Everglades National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain against 240 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a Rambur's Forktail?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rambur's Forktail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Everglades National Park the best place to see a Rambur's Forktail?

Yes

Of the 12 parks where we can rate Rambur's Forktail sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 30%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Rambur's Forktail live in Everglades National Park?

Same genus: Ischnura

The closest relatives of the Rambur's Forktail that you can see in Everglades National Park (genus Ischnura, Forktails) are Citrine Forktail (about 10%) and Lilypad Forktail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Rambur's Forktail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rambur's Forktail is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (408 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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