The Lestidae are a rather small family of cosmopolitan, large-sized, slender

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

, known commonly as the spreadwings or spread-winged damselflies.

Characteristics

While most

rest with their wings folded together, most members of the family Lestidae hold them at an angle away from their bodies. The

pterostigma The pterostigma (plural: pterostigmata) is a group of specialized cells in the outer insect wing, wings of insects, which are often thickened or coloured, and thus stand out from other cells. It is particularly noticeable in dragonfly, dragonfli ...

(a single dark spot in the meshwork of the leading edge near the tip of each wing) is noticeably elongated. The

quadrilateral In geometry a quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon, having four edges (sides) and four corners (vertices). The word is derived from the Latin words ''quadri'', a variant of four, and ''latus'', meaning "side". It is also called a tetragon, ...

(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.

Taxonomy

The two

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

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. The exact taxonomy of the family is disputed, with some authorities including twelve genera and some eight.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. Genera include:

References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q509008 Odonata families Odonata of Europe Odonata of Australia Odonata of Oceania Odonata of Africa Odonata of New Zealand Odonata of North America Taxa named by Philip Powell Calvert Insects described in 1901 Damselflies

Characteristics

Taxonomy

See also

References