Duckweed firetail

Description:

Tiny, all-red damselfly most often seen perching on aquatic duckweed plants. We happened across about four or five of them during the National Geographic BioBlitz of Jean Lafitte National Park, and we believe this is the first record of this species in Jefferson Parish.

Habitat:

Normally favor duckweed, but this area is covered by invasive salvinia. We wondered if they might be adapting to the new plants. We only saw them on the salvinia briefly; they were mostly perching on the plants above.

Notes:

Thanks to Kelby Ouchley from Bayou-Diversity for making the initial spotting and ID!