Lestidae

Lestidae Temporal range: Late Eocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Female Austrolestes cingulatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Zygoptera
Superfamily:	Lestoidea
Family:	Lestidae Calvert, 1901[1]
Type genus
Lestes

The Lestidae are a rather small family of cosmopolitan, large-sized, slender damselflies,^[2] known commonly as the spreadwings or spread-winged damselflies.^[3]

Fossil lestids are known from the Late Eocene onwards.^[4]

A male Lestes dryas in the "spread-winged" posture that gives the family its common name

Characteristics

While most damselflies rest with their wings folded together, most members of the family Lestidae hold them at an angle away from their bodies. The pterostigma (a single dark spot in the meshwork of the leading edge near the tip of each wing) is noticeably elongated. The quadrilateral (a part of the wing venation, close to the body) has an acute angle at the end. The body has a greenish, metallic shine. The superior anal appendages, commonly called claspers (body parts of male insect for clasping the female during copulation) of male spreadwings are long and strongly curved.

Breeding takes place in slow-moving or still water in stream backwaters, swamps, marshes and temporary pools. The nymphs have a long abdomen and a distinctive prementum (part of the lower lip). There is one generation per year in North American species.^[5]

Taxonomy

The two subfamilies in Lestidae are Lestinae and Sympecmatinae. Damselflies in the Lestinae rest with their wings partly open, while those in the Sympecmatinae, the reedlings, ringtails, and winter damselflies, rest with their wings folded. In the past, taxonomy of the family has been disputed, with some authorities including twelve genera^[6] while others included eight genera.^[7] Current authorities accept nine genera make up the family Lestidae.^[8]

SubFamily	Image	Genus	Extant species
Sympecmatinae Fraser, 1951		Archilestes Selys, 1862	Archilestes exoletus (Hagen in Selys, 1862) Archilestes grandis (Rambur, 1942) - Great Spreadwing Archilestes guayaraca De Marmels, 1982 Archilestes latialatus Donnelly, 1981 Archilestes neblina Garrison, 1982 Archilestes regalis Gloyd, 1944 Archilestes tuberalatus (Williamson, 1921)
		Indolestes Fraser, 1922	Indolestes albicaudus (McLachlan, 1895) Indolestes alfurus Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes alleni (Tillyard, 1913) - Small Reedling Indolestes anomalus Fraser, 1946 Indolestes aruanus Lieftinck, 1951 Indolestes assamicus Fraser, 1930 Indolestes bellax (Lieftinck, 1930) Indolestes bilineatus (Selys, 1891) Indolestes birmanus (Selys, 1891) Indolestes boninensis (Asahina, 1952) Indolestes cheesmanae Kimmins, 1936 Indolestes coeruleus Fraser, 1924 Indolestes cyaneus (Selys, 1862) Indolestes dajakanus (Lieftinck, 1948) Indolestes davenporti (Fraser, 1930) Indolestes divisus (Hagen in Selys, 1862) Indolestes extraneus (Needham, 1930) Indolestes floresianus Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes goniocercus Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes gracilis (Hagen in Selys, 1862) Indolestes guizhouensis Zhou & Zhou, 2005 Indolestes indicus Fraser, 1922 Indolestes inflatus (Fraser, 1933) Indolestes insularis (Tillyard, 1913) - Northern ringtail Indolestes linsleyi Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes lundquisti (Lieftinck, 1949) Indolestes luxatus (Lieftinck, 1932) Indolestes lygisticercus (Lieftinck, 1932) Indolestes obiri Watson, 1979 - Cave Reedling Indolestes peregrinus (Ris, 1916) Indolestes pulcherrimus Fraser, 1924 Indolestes risi (Van der Weele, 1909) Indolestes sutteri Lieftinck, 1953 Indolestes tenuissimus Tillyard, 1906 - Slender Reedling Indolestes vitiensis (Tillyard, 1924)
		Sympecma Burmeister, 1839	Sympecma fusca (Vander Linden, 1820) – Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma gobica Förster, 1900 Sympecma paedisca (Brauer, 1877) – Siberian Winter Damsel
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Austrolestes Tillyard, 1913	Austrolestes aleison Watson & Moulds, 1979 - Western ringtail Austrolestes analis (Rambur, 1842) - Slender ringtail Austrolestes annulosus (Selys, 1862) - Blue ringtail Austrolestes aridus (Tillyard, 1908) - Inland ringtail Austrolestes cingulatus (Burmeister, 1839) - Metallic ringtail Austrolestes colensonis (White, 1846) - Blue damselfly, kekewai Austrolestes io (Selys, 1862) - Iota ringtail Austrolestes leda (Selys, 1862) - Wandering ringtail Austrolestes minjerriba Watson, 1979 - Dune ringtail Austrolestes psyche (Hagen in Selys, 1862) - Cup ringtail
		Chalcolestes Kennedy, 1920	Chalcolestes parvidens (Artobolevsky, 1929) – Eastern Willow Spreadwing Chalcolestes viridis (Vander Linden, 1825) – Willow Emerald Damselfly,
		Lestes Leach, 1815	Lestes alacer Hagen, 1861 – Plateau Spreadwing Lestes alfonsoi González & Novelo, 2001 Lestes amicus Martin, 1910 Lestes angularis Fraser, 1929 Lestes apollinaris Navás, 1934 Lestes auripennis Fraser, 1955 Lestes auritus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Lestes australis Walker, 1952 – Southern Spreadwing Lestes barbarus (Fabricius, 1798) – Southern Emerald Damselfly, Migrant Spreadwing Lestes basidens Belle, 1997 Lestes bipupillatus Calvert, 1909 Lestes concinnus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Lestes congener Hagen, 1861 – Spotted Spreadwing Lestes curvatus Belle, 1997 Lestes debellardi De Marmels, 1992 Lestes dichrostigma Calvert, 1909 Lestes disjunctus Selys, 1862 – Northern Spreadwing Lestes dissimulans Fraser, 1955 Lestes dorothea Fraser, 1924 Lestes dryas Kirby, 1890 – Emerald Spreadwing, Scarce Emerald Damselfly, Lestes elatus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Lestes eurinus Say, 1839 – Amber-winged Spreadwing Lestes falcifer Sjöstedt, 1918 Lestes fernandoi Costa, De Souza & Muzón, 2006 Lestes forcipatus Rambur, 1842 – Sweetflag Spreadwing Lestes forficula Rambur, 1842 – Rainpool Spreadwing Lestes garoensis Lahiri, 1987 Lestes helix Ris, 1918 Lestes henshawi Calvert, 1907 Lestes ictericus Gerstäcker, 1869 Lestes inaequalis Walsh, 1862 – Elegant Spreadwing Lestes japonicus Selys, 1883 Lestes jerrelli Tennessen, 1997 Lestes jurzitzai Muzon, 1994 Lestes macrostigma (Eversmann, 1836) – Dark Emerald Damselfly Lestes malabaricus Fraser, 1929 Lestes malaisei Schmidt, 1964 Lestes minutus Selys, 1862 Lestes nigriceps Fraser, 1924 Lestes nodalis Selys, 1891 Lestes numidicus Samraoui, Weekers & Dumont, 2003 Lestes ochraceus Selys, 1862 Lestes pallidus Rambur, 1842 Lestes patricia Fraser, 1924 Lestes paulistus Calvert, 1909 Lestes pictus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Lestes pinheyi Fraser, 1955 Lestes plagiatus (Burmeister, 1839) Lestes praecellens Lieftinck, 1937 Lestes praemorsus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Lestes praevius Lieftinck, 1940 Lestes pruinescens Martin, 1910 Lestes quadristriatus Calvert, 1909 Lestes rectangularis Say, 1839 – Slender Spreadwing Lestes regulatus Martin, 1910 Lestes scalaris Gundlach, 1888 Lestes secula May, 1993 Lestes sigma Calvert, 1901 – Chalky Spreadwing Lestes silvaticus Schmidt, 1951 Lestes simplex Hagen, 1861 Lestes simulatrix McLachlan, 1895 Lestes spatula Fraser, 1946 Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823) – Emerald Damselfly, Lestes spumarius Hagen in Selys, 1862 – Antillean Spreadwing Lestes sternalis Navás, 1930 Lestes stultus Hagen, 1861 – Black Spreadwing Lestes temporalis Selys, 1883 Lestes tenuatus Rambur, 1842 – Blue-striped Spreadwing Lestes thoracicus Laidlaw, 1920 Lestes tikalus Kormoondy, 1959 Lestes trichonus Belle, 1997 Lestes tricolor Erichson, 1848 Lestes tridens McLachlan, 1895 Lestes umbrinus Selys, 1891 Lestes uncifer Karsch, 1899 Lestes undulatus Say, 1840 Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861 – Lyre-tipped Spreadwing Lestes urubamba Kennedy, 1942 Lestes vidua Hagen, 1861 – Carolina Spreadwing Lestes vigilax Hagen in Selys, 1862 – Swamp Spreadwing Lestes virens (Charpentier, 1825) – Small Emerald Damselfly, Lestes virgatus (Burmeister, 1839) Lestes viridulus Rambur, 1842
		Orolestes	Orolestes durga Lahiri, 1987 Orolestes excelsus Fraser, 1933 Orolestes motis Baijal & Agarwal, 1956 Orolestes octomaculatus Martin, 1904 Orolestes selysi McLachlan, 1895 Orolestes wallacei (Kirby, 1889)
		Platylestes Selys, 1862	Platylestes heterostylus Lieftinck, 1932 Platylestes kirani Emiliyamma, Palot & Charesh, 2020 Platylestes pertinax Lieftinck, 1932 Platylestes platystyla Rambur, 1842 Platylestes platystylus (Rambur, 1842)
		Sinhalestes Fraser, 1951	Sinhalestes orientalis (Hagen, 1862)

Etymology

The family name Lestidae is derived from the type genus Lestes, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families. The name Lestes is derived from the Greek λῃστής (lēstēs, "robber" or "pirate"), referring to the predatory behaviour of species in this genus.^[9][10]

See also

• List of damselflies of the world (Lestidae)

References

1. Calvert, P.P. (1901). "Fam. Odonata". In Godman, F.D.; Salvin, O. (eds.). Biologia Centrali-Americana. Vol. Insecta. Neuroptera (1892-1908). London: R.H. Porter. pp. 17–342, 342–410 [45]. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.730.
2. Dijkstra, K.D.B.; et al. (2013). "The classification and diversity of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness (Addenda 2013)". Zootaxa. 3703 (1): 36–45. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3703.1.9. hdl:10072/61365.
3. Lestidae. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=102058
4. Xia, Guoqing; Zheng, Daran; Krieg-Jacquier, Régis; Fan, Qiushuang; Chen, Yun; Nel, André (2022). "The oldest-known Lestidae (Odonata) from the late Eocene of Tibet: palaeoclimatic implications". Geological Magazine. 159 (4): 511–518. doi:10.1017/S0016756821001102. ISSN 0016-7568.
5. John L. Capinera (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1244. ISBN 978-1-4020-6242-1.
6. Davies, D. A. L. (1981). A synopsis of the extant genera of the Odonata. Soc. Int. Odonatol. 3 : i-xiv 1-59
7. Bridges, C.A. (1994). Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world, 3e éd.. Urbana, Illinois. xiv 951 pp.
8. Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama. Retrieved 2026-03-23.
9. D’Antonio, Costantino; Vegliante, Francesca. "Derivatio nominis libellularum europæarum" (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2025.
10. Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.