Lestes is a genus of damselfly in the family Lestidae.[2]The family hold their wings at about 45 degrees to the body when resting. This distinguishes them from most other species of damselflies which hold the wings along, and parallel to, the body when at rest.

Lestes
female Lestes sponsa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain:Eukaryota
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Odonata
Suborder:Zygoptera
Family:Lestidae
Genus:Lestes
Leach, 1815[1]

The name Lestes comes from the Greek word λῃστής (lēistēs) meaning predator.[3]

Extant Species

The genus Lestes includes the following species:[4]

MaleFemaleScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Lestes alacer Hagen, 1861Plateau Spreadwing[5]Central America and North America
Lestes alfonsoi González & Novelo, 2001Central America.
Lestes amicus Martin, 1910Congo, Tanzania, Angola
Lestes angularis Fraser, 1929India
Lestes apollinaris Navás, 1934Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Lestes auripennis Fraser, 1955Madagascar
Lestes auritus Hagen in Selys, 1862Brazil
Lestes australis Walker, 1952Southern Spreadwing[5]North America
Lestes barbarus (Fabricius, 1798)Southern Emerald Damselfly,[6] Migrant Spreadwing[7]Europe in a band across Spain, France, Italy and Greece to India and Mongolia.
Lestes basidens Belle, 1997Surinam
Lestes bipupillatus Calvert, 1909Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina
Lestes concinnus Hagen in Selys, 1862Dusky SpreadwingIndia, Southeast Asia as far as New Caledonia, and northern parts of Australia
Lestes congener Hagen, 1861Spotted Spreadwing[5]Canada and in the United States
Lestes curvatus Belle, 1997Surinam
Lestes debellardi De Marmels, 1992Surinam
Lestes dichrostigma Calvert, 1909Brazil
Lestes disjunctus Selys, 1862Northern Spreadwing[5]United States and Canada.
Lestes dissimulans Fraser, 1955Cryptic 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 Fraser, 1924Forest Spreadwingsouth and northeast India to Thailand and Malaysia
Lestes dryas Kirby, 1890Emerald Spreadwing,[5] Scarce Emerald Damselfly,[6] Robust Spreadwing,[7] Turlough Spreadwing[8]central Europe and Asia from France to the Pacific and across North America
Lestes elatus Hagen in Selys, 1862India, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Lestes eurinus Say, 1839Amber-winged Spreadwing[5]Northeastern North America
Lestes falcifer Sjöstedt, 1918Venezuela
Lestes fernandoi Costa, De Souza & Muzón, 2006Brazil
Lestes forcipatus Rambur, 1842Sweetflag Spreadwing[5]Canada and the United States
Lestes forficula Rambur, 1842Rainpool Spreadwing[5]Caribbean Sea, Central America, North America, and South America
Lestes garoensis Lahiri, 1987India
Lestes helix Ris, 1918Peru, Venezuela
Lestes henshawi Calvert, 1907Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Lestes ictericus Gerstäcker, 1869Tawny 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 Walsh, 1862Elegant Spreadwing[5]eastern Canada and the United States
Lestes japonicus Selys, 1883Japan, Korean Peninsula, Eastern Russia
Lestes jerrelli Tennessen, 1997Ecuador
Lestes jurzitzai Muzon, 1994Brazil
Lestes macrostigma (Eversmann, 1836)Dark Emerald Damselfly[9] or Dark Spreadwing[7]Europe into Central Asia and the Middle East
Lestes malabaricus Fraser, 1929Sri Lanka, South India and Andaman Islands
Lestes malaisei Schmidt, 1964Myanmar
Lestes minutus Selys, 1862Brazil, Trinidad, Venezuela
Lestes nigriceps Fraser, 1924Cambodia
Lestes nodalis Selys, 1891Northeast India, Thailand and China.
Lestes numidicus Samraoui, Weekers & Dumont, 2003Algeria
Lestes ochraceus Selys, 1862Benin; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Lestes pallidus Rambur, 1842Angola; 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 Fraser, 1924Western Ghats in India
Lestes paulistus Calvert, 1909Brazil
Lestes pictus Hagen in Selys, 1862Brazil
Lestes pinheyi Fraser, 1955Pinhey's SpreadwingAngola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Ghana; Malawi; Namibia; Nigeria; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Lestes plagiatus (Burmeister, 1839)Highland SpreadwingAngola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Lestes praecellens Lieftinck, 1937Malaysia
Lestes praemorsus Hagen in Selys, 1862India to China and south to New Guinea
Lestes praevius Lieftinck, 1940Sabah
Lestes pruinescens Martin, 1910Madagascar
Lestes quadristriatus Calvert, 1909Brazil
Lestes rectangularis Say, 1839Slender Spreadwing[5]eastern Canada and the United States
Lestes regulatus Martin, 1910Ethiopia
Lestes scalaris Gundlach, 1888Caribbean
Lestes secula May, 1993Panama
Lestes sigma Calvert, 1901Chalky Spreadwing[5]Central America and North America
Lestes silvaticus Schmidt, 1951Madagascar
Lestes simplex Hagen, 1861Mexico
Lestes simulatrix McLachlan, 1895Madagascar
Lestes spatula Fraser, 1946Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay
Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823)Emerald Damselfly,[6] Common Spreadwing[7][8]central Europe and Asia from Spain to the Pacific
Lestes spumarius Hagen in Selys, 1862Antillean Spreadwing[5]Caribbean Sea and North America.
Lestes sternalis Navás, 1930Colombia
Lestes stultus Hagen, 1861Black Spreadwing[5]United States
Lestes temporalis Selys, 1883Japan
Lestes tenuatus Rambur, 1842Blue-striped SpreadwingCentral America, Ecuador
Lestes thoracicus Laidlaw, 1920emerald-striped spreadwingBangladesh, India, and Thailand
Lestes tikalus Kormoondy, 1959Guatemala
Lestes trichonus Belle, 1997Surinam
Lestes tricolor Erichson, 1848British Guyana
Lestes tridens McLachlan, 1895Spotted SpreadwingAngola; 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 Selys, 1891Myanmar
Lestes uncifer Karsch, 1899Sickle SpreadwingCameroon; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Republic of South Africa; Somalia; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Lestes undulatus Say, 1840Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile
Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861Lyre-tipped Spreadwing[5]United States
Lestes urubamba Kennedy, 1942Peru
Lestes vidua Hagen, 1861Carolina Spreadwing[5]United States
Lestes vigilax Hagen in Selys, 1862Swamp Spreadwing[5]United States
Lestes virens (Charpentier, 1825)Small Emerald Damselfly,[9] Small Spreadwing[7]Algeria; Morocco; Tunisia
Lestes virgatus (Burmeister, 1839)Smoky SpreadwingAngola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Lestes viridulus Rambur, 1842Emerald-striped SpreadwingIndia

Fossils

  • 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

References

  • Media related to Lestes at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Lestes at Wikispecies