Slender Threadtails - Protoneura
 Protoneura are a
Neotropical damselfy genus. They are slender and longer than the Robust
Threadtails. Males of this genus have brightly colored thoraxes
generally marked with reds, oranges and yellows. The males are easily
identified by their attenuated abdomens which are often darker than the rest of their bodies. This contrast
makes them magnificent when hovering over the waters surface.
Females are somewhat more robust and generally have colors similar to
the males but somewhat less bright.
Many species inhabit small, slow streams, ditches
and seepages. Although others may appear at larger streams and
others may occasionally appear around ponds or sheltered lakeshores
with a good degree of leaf litter or submerged vegetation.
Threadtails are not always visible while hovering over the water
surface; nearly undetectable until they fly into the sun when
they look like little glow sticks hovering over the water.
Pairs can be seen ovipositing in floating detritus.
They also have been known to use live plants ovispositing alone.
Little is known about the larvae of threadtails; it
is thought that they probably live in leaf litter in small trickles and
pools.
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