Lestes is a widespread genus of damselflies in the family Lestidae. Species occur throughout much of the world and are commonly known as spreadwings.
Description Species of Lestes are medium-sized to large, slender damselflies, typically coloured green, bronze or brown with a metallic sheen. Unlike most damselflies, they usually rest with their wings held partly open, a characteristic that gives rise to the common name "spreadwings".
The wings have an elongated pterostigma near the tip of the leading edge, a characteristic feature of the family Lestidae. Males typically possess long, strongly curved appendages used to clasp females during mating.
Distribution and habitat Species of Lestes occur throughout much of the world, inhabiting ponds, marshes, swamps, lagoons and other still or slow-moving freshwater habitats.
Taxonomy Lestes is the largest genus in the family Lestidae. Modern studies support the recognition of Lestidae as a distinct family of damselflies, but suggest that relationships within the family may require further revision and that the broadly defined genus Lestes may be subdivided in the future.
Etymology The genus name Lestes comes from the Greek word λῃστής (lēistēs) meaning thief, referring to the predatory behaviour of damselflies.
Species The following species are currently placed in Lestes: Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution Lestes alacer Plateau Spreadwing Central America and North America Lestes alfonsoi Central America. Lestes amicus Congo, Tanzania, Angola Lestes angularis India Lestes apollinaris Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela Lestes auripennis Madagascar Lestes auritus Brazil Lestes australis Southern SpreadwingNorth America Lestes barbarus Southern Emerald Damselfly, Migrant SpreadwingEurope in a band across Spain, France, Italy and Greece to India and Mongolia. Lestes basidens Surinam Lestes bipupillatus Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina Lestes concinnus Dusky Spreadwing India, Southeast Asia as far as New Caledonia, and northern parts of Australia Lestes congener Spotted Spreadwing Canada and in the United States Lestes curvatus Surinam Lestes debellardi Surinam Lestes dichrostigma Brazil Lestes disjunctus Northern SpreadwingUnited States and Canada. Lestes dissimulans Cryptic SpreadwingAngola; Benin; Botswana; Côte d'Ivoire; Chad; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes dorothea Forest Spreadwing south and northeast India to Thailand and Malaysia Lestes dryas Emerald Spreadwing, Scarce Emerald Damselfly, Robust Spreadwing, Turlough Spreadwing central Europe and Asia from France to the Pacific and across North America Lestes elatus India, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Lestes eurinus Amber-winged SpreadwingNortheastern North America Lestes falcifer Venezuela Lestes fernandoi Brazil Lestes forcipatus Sweetflag SpreadwingCanada and the United States Lestes forficula Rainpool SpreadwingCaribbean Sea, Central America, North America, and South America Lestes garoensis India Lestes helix Peru, Venezuela Lestes henshawi Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela Lestes ictericus Tawny SpreadwingBenin; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gambia; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; South Sudan; Sudan; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes inaequalis Elegant Spreadwing eastern Canada and the United States Lestes japonicus Japan, Korean Peninsula, Eastern Russia Lestes jerrelli Ecuador Lestes jurzitzai Brazil Lestes macrostigma Dark Emerald Damselfly or Dark Spreadwing Europe into Central Asia and the Middle East Lestes malabaricus Sri Lanka, South India and Andaman Islands Lestes malaisei Myanmar Lestes minutus Brazil, Trinidad, Venezuela Lestes nigriceps Cambodia Lestes nodalis Northeast India, Thailand and China. Lestes numidicus Algeria Lestes ochraceus Benin; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes pallidus Angola; Botswana; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Chad; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; Somalia; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes patricia Western Ghats in India Lestes paulistus Brazil Lestes pictus Brazil Lestes pinheyi Pinhey's Spreadwing Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Ghana; Malawi; Namibia; Nigeria; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes plagiatus Highland Spreadwing Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes praecellens Malaysia Lestes praemorsus India to China and south to New Guinea Lestes praevius Sabah Lestes pruinescens Madagascar Lestes quadristriatus Brazil Lestes rectangularis Slender Spreadwingeastern Canada and the United States Lestes regulatus Ethiopia Lestes scalaris Caribbean Lestes secula Panama Lestes sigma Chalky SpreadwingCentral America and North America Lestes silvaticus Madagascar Lestes simplex Mexico Lestes simulatrix Madagascar Lestes spatula Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay Lestes sponsa Emerald Damselfly, Common Spreadwing central Europe and Asia from Spain to the Pacific Lestes spumarius Antillean SpreadwingCaribbean Sea and North America. Lestes sternalis Colombia Lestes stultus Black SpreadwingUnited States Lestes temporalis Japan Lestes tenuatus Blue-striped SpreadwingCentral America, Ecuador Lestes thoracicus emerald-striped spreadwing Bangladesh, India, and Thailand Lestes tikalus Guatemala Lestes trichonus Surinam Lestes tricolor Brazil. British Guyana Lestes tridens Spotted Spreadwing Angola; Botswana; Côte d'Ivoire; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Gabon; Kenya; Liberia; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Somalia; Tanzania; Togo; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes umbrinus Myanmar Lestes uncifer Sickle Spreadwing Cameroon; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Republic of South Africa; Somalia; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes undulatus Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile Lestes unguiculatus Lyre-tipped SpreadwingUnited States Lestes urubamba Peru Lestes vidua Carolina SpreadwingUnited States Lestes vigilax Swamp SpreadwingUnited States Lestes virens Small Emerald Damselfly, Small SpreadwingEurope, north Africa, and western and central Asia Lestes virgatus Smoky SpreadwingAngola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes viridulus Emerald-striped Spreadwing India
Fossils The fossil record of the genus Lestes extends from the Late Eocene to the present, with fossils known from Europe and Asia, indicating a long history and broad distribution. Lestes aquisextana Lestes arvernus Lestes brisaci Lestes ceresti Lestes conexus Lestes datangensis Lestes dianacompteae Lestes forsterii Lestes irenea Lestes leucosia Lestes ligea Lestes lutzi Lestes peisinoe Lestes plicata Lestes regina Lestes sieblosiformis Lestes statzi Lestes vicina Lestes zalesskyi
See also Chalcolestes
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