Lestes inaequalis is a damselfly

Damselfly

Damselflies are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest...

 species in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Lestidae

Lestidae

Lestidae is a rather small family of cosmopolitan, large-sized, slender damselflies. They are of the order of the dragonflies and are commonly known as "Spreadwings." There are two subfamilies in Lestdae. The first subfamily is Lestinae. Damselflies in Lestinae rest with their wings partly open...

. This species is commonly as the elegant spreadwing.

Description

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.

Habitat

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.

Size

Elegant spreadwings are one of the largest species of spreadwings. The average length of the adult is 1 ¾ - 2 ½ inches.

Distribution

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

Habits

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.

Similar Species

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

Lestes vigilax

The Swamp Spreadwing is a member of the Lestes genus, it grows between 42 and 55 mm. It ranges from eastern North America west to Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas, and to Georgia and South Carolina. It is most commonly seen between May and October....

 (L. vigilax ) which has rusty-brown antehumeral stripes and the back of its head is black. The emerald spreadwing

Lestes dryas

Lestes dryas is a species of damselfly which is found across Europe, Asia and North America. In North America it is known as the Emerald Spreadwing and this name is becoming more widely used in Europe. In Britain, it is very rare so its common name is the Scarce Emerald Damselfly. An alternate name...

 (L. dryas ) is substantially smaller than the elegant spreadwings. Lestes inaequalis is also similar to the amber-winged spreadwing.