Damsel

My first sighting of an Odonata species this year was on April 28. The recently emerged adult was a Fragile Forktail. Posing here on cherry blossoms piled up on the opposite side of the pond from the trees.

Nearby was an inch-long nymph or naiad stage damselfly. This could very well be another Fragile, one of the mainstay species here. The trio of extensions at the back are actually gills. Dragonfly nymphs have internal gills at the rear of their abdomens, so this is a quick way to see if your larval-stage water monster becomes a damsel or dragon.