| Elegant Spreadwing | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Lestidae |
| Genus: | Lestes |
| Species: | L. inaequalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Lestes inaequalis Walsh, 1862 |
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| Synonyms | |
|
Lestes virgo Calvert, 1897 |
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Lestes inaequalis is a damselfly species in the family Lestidae. This species is commonly as the elegant spreadwing.
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On male elegant spreadwings, the thorax is metallic green above with no obvious shoulder stripes and pale yellow sides. Its long, slender abdomen is brownish with bright green above and blue-gray at the tip. Their large eyes are a deep blue above and greenish-yellow below. The female elegant spreadwing is similar in color to the male on the thorax and abdomen but is not as bright. Her eyes are brown and the tip of the abdomen is not blue-gray. Both of the genders wings are clear. The naiad is golden to dark brown in color with stalk like permentum.
Elegant spreadwings are commonly found nearby canopy-covered permanent ponds, lakes, slow moving streams and marshes with plenty of emergent vegetation and heavily wooded shorelines.
These spreadwings feed on insects, such as smaller damselflies.
Elegant spreadwings are one of the largest species of spreadwings. The average length of the adult is 1 ¾ - 2 ½ inches.
They are found over the United States in Alabama • Arkansas • Connecticut • District Of Columbia • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Iowa • Illinois • Indiana • Kentucky • Louisiana • Massachusetts • Maryland • Maine • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • North Carolina • New Hampshire • New Jersey • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • Tennessee • Texas • Vermont • Wisconsin • West Virginia; and in Canada in Manitoba • New Brunswick • Ontario • Quebec
These spreadwings can get easily disturbed and are generally found perching in shady areas during the heat of the day. They frequently perch on vegetation with the wings partially open and the abdomen lowered. They sometimes perch with wings closed. Elegant spreadwings have a unique behavior of laying eggs in tandem in the upper surface of lily pads. Their reproductive behavior has never been reported.
These damselflies are active from early May to early August.
The large size and bright green metallic color of the elegant spreadwing make it easily recognizable in the field. Its similar only to the swamp spreadwing (L. vigilax ) which has rusty-brown antehumeral stripes and the back of its head is black. The emerald spreadwing (L. dryas ) is substantially smaller than the elegant spreadwings. Lestes inaequalis is also similar to the amber-winged spreadwing.