Elegant spreadwing | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Odonata |
Suborder: | Zygoptera |
Family: | Lestidae |
Genus: | Lestes |
Species: | L. inaequalis
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Binomial name | |
Lestes inaequalis Walsh, 1862
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Synonyms | |
Lestes virgo Calvert, 1897 |
The elegant spreadwing (Lestes inaequalis) is a species of damselfly in the family Lestidae, the spreadwings. It is native to eastern North America, including eastern Canada and the United States. [1]
This species is 45 to 60 millimeters long. [2] The male has a metallic green and yellow thorax and a blue-tipped green abdomen. The body is pruinose, especially in older specimens. The female has a thicker body with duller coloration. This species is similar to the swamp spreadwing (L. vigilax) but larger in size, and to the amber-winged spreadwing (L. eurinus) but without the amber wings. [3]
This species lives near freshwater bodies such as streams, lakes, ponds, and marshes. [3] It may live under the canopy in wooded areas. [2]
The elegant spreadwing is known to feed on smaller damselflies. [2]