spotted spreadwing

(Lestes congener)

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 
spotted spreadwing
Photo by Scott Bemman
 
Description

Spotted Spreadwing is a common, small, late-flying damselfly. It occurs across the United States and southern Canada except in the southeast. It is absent from the southeastern states from North Carolina to Florida west to Kansas and Texas. It is found from mid-July to late October at the edges of lakes and ponds, by slow streams, and in seasonal and permanent wetlands.

Adults are 1¼ to 1 (32 to 42 mm) long and stocky.

The upperside of the thorax of the male is black with bronze iridescence, a thin pale stripe in the center (dorsal stripe), and a thin pale shoulder stripe on each side. The sides of the thorax are pale whitish-gray. On each side there is a pair of prominent dark spots on the lower thorax that gives this damselfly its common name. The abdomen is slender, black with bronze iridescence above, brown or pale below. The last two abdominal segments have a conspicuous, gray, powdery coating (pruinescence). The wings are clear except for a single dark cell (stigma) near the tip. The legs are long and slender. The head is black and the compound eyes are blue. As the male ages it develops a white powdery coating on the thorax, on the first two abdominal segments, and on the sides and underside of abdominal segments 6 through 8.

On the female the head and eyes are brown, the upper side of the thorax is dark brown, and the abdomen is thicker. The ovipositor is short and does not extend beyond the tip of the abdomen.

 

Size

Total length: 1¼ to 1 (32 to 42 mm)

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

Edges of ponds and lakes, wetlands

Biology

Season

Mid-July to late October

 

Behavior

The wings are held spread at about a 45° angle when at rest.

 

Life Cycle

Eggs are laid above water in the dried stems of bulrushes. Eggs overwinter and hatch in late spring.

 

Naiad Food

 

 

Adult Food

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83

4/21/2025    
     

Occurrence

Common

Taxonomy

Order

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)

Suborder

Zygoptera (damselflies)

Superfamily

Lestoidea

Family

Lestidae (spreadwings and allies)

Genus

Lestes (pond spreadwings)

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

 

   

Common Names

spotted spreadwing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Pruinescence

A waxy or powdery bloom that covers the underlying coloration and gives a dusty or frosty appearance.

 

Stigma

In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing.

 

 

 

 

 

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Alfredo Colon

spotted spreadwing    
     
spotted spreadwing   spotted spreadwing
     
spotted spreadwing   spotted spreadwing
     
spotted spreadwing   spotted spreadwing
     
spotted spreadwing   spotted spreadwing
     
spotted spreadwing   spotted spreadwing
     
spotted spreadwing   spotted spreadwing

Scott Bemman

spotted spreadwing
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
   

 

   

 

 

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Other Videos

Lestes congener, male (Dragonfly) Wetlands Park-LV-NV-USA 10 8 2018 Antonio Silveira
Antonio Silveira

About

Aug 12, 2018

Dragonflies of Nevada-USA by Antonio Silveira
Lestes congener

Slender Spreadwing (Lestidae: Lestes rectangularis) Mating
Carl Barrentine

About

Aug 12, 2010

Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (11 August 2010).

 

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings
 

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Alfredo Colon
8/26/2022

Location: Albany, NY

spotted spreadwing
Alfredo Colon
8/25/2022

Location: Albany, NY

spotted spreadwing
Alfredo Colon
8/18/2022

Location: Albany, NY

spotted spreadwing
Alfredo Colon
8/17/2022

Location: Albany, NY

spotted spreadwing
Alfredo Colon
8/15/2022

Location: Albany, NY

spotted spreadwing

Alfredo Colon
8/8/2022

Location: Albany, NY

spotted spreadwing
Scott Bemman
Summer 2020

Location: Hayes Lake State Park

spotted spreadwing
Alfredo Colon
Summer 2018

Location: Woodbury, MN

spotted spreadwing
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

 

 

 

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Created: 1/15/2020

Last Updated:

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