Family: Lestidae
California Spreadwing
Common Spreadwing
Lyre-tipped Spreadwing
Spotted Spreadwing
Emerald Spreadwing

Lestidae: The Spreadwings

Family Facts:

• This family is known as the Spreadwings because, unlike other damselflies, they perch vertically with their wings open almost like a dragonfly.
• In North America, this family contains 18 species in two genera. In Idaho, there are five species in two genera.
• These are large damselflies with long abdomens and relatively short wings. They are weak flyers and normally stay close to cover.
• The females lay eggs (oviposit) in plant tissues or wet wood, usually in tandem with the male. They use their ovipositor to cut a slit in the plant tissue into which they lay their eggs.
• The naiads of these damselflies are usually found in marshes, ponds and slow streams.
• The naiads are very long and slender. They are active, underwater hunters and vigorous swimmers, more so than other damselfly naiads.
• The naiads emerge during the day. They swim toward shore and generally emerge on shoreline vegetation such as cattails and sedges, but they will also emerge on rocks or driftwood.

Genus: Archilestes
These are very large damselflies with a more robust build than the other members of this family. The coloration is tan to brown with black markings, with no metallic highlights common in Lestes. They are usually found at slow streams. The females oviposit in woody stems that overhang the water. The naiads live in pools and backwaters.

Archilestes californica- California Spreadwing

Genus: Lestes
These are large damselflies with elongate abdomens, though the females can appear somewhat stout. The coloration is bronze or metallic green on the upper surface, and yellow or pale green below, with older individuals becoming pruinose on the thorax. The eyes are usually blue. These damselflies are usually found at ponds or marshes with emergent vegetation. The females oviposit in the stems of emergent aquatic plants such as sedges and bulrushes, usually well above the waterline. They hatch out when the stems become submerged, either as water levels rise or stems die and fall into the water.

Lestes congener- Spotted Spreadwing
Lestes disjunctus- Common Spreadwing
Lestes dryas- Emerald Spreadwing
Lestes unguiculatus- Lyre-tipped Spreadwing