Family: Libellulidae
Length: typically 24-26 mm
Very few dragonflies are as small as this oneabout one inchso it is no wonder both the first and the last words in the common name refer to the quality of being small. The Latin species name, too, minuscula, refers to this dragonflys diminutive extent.
On the mature male, segments 8, 9, and 10 of the abdomen are black, and the appendages are whitish. The face of mature males is dark metallic blue to black. If you are particularly observant youll notice a dark patch on the hind wing near where it joins the body.
Females and immature males have a thorax that is tan to yellow, and an abdomen that is marked in yellow and black, and entirely dark at the rear. Appendages once again are whitish, while the basal spot on the hind wings is amber instead of black.
As of 2004 there were only two West Virginia county records for this species: Pendleton and Greenbrier. In 2005 the individual shown on this page was photographed in Randolph County, making a third county record.
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| On mature males, the rear of the abdomen is black, while the appendages are white. |
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| The coloration of the face appeared metallic blue in the field, but the camera recorded it as black, and the field guides say black as well. |
