Spotted Spreadwing

Lestes congener

The Spotted Spreadwing is a beautiful dragonfly with long wings and spots on its body. It loves to flutter around water, where it hunts for tiny insects to eat.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Spotted Spreadwing has a slender body that gleams metallic green or bronze. Its clear wings feature distinctive pale, often bicolored, spots near the tips. Unlike most damselflies, it rests with its wings held slightly open, not pressed together.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyLestidaeGenusLestes

Spotted Spreadwing

Interesting facts

Older damselflies sometimes get a powdery blue or white coating, making them look totally different!

Spotted Spreadwings get their name because they rest with their wings partly open.

Their babies live underwater for almost a year before becoming flying adults!

They use their six spiky legs like a basket to scoop up tiny flying insects in mid-air.

Special abilities

Spotted Spreadwing larvae can breathe and hunt underwater using special feathery gills, helping them survive until they grow wings.

Spotted Spreadwing has special dark wing spots (pterostigmata) that absorb sunlight, helping warm its body so it can fly faster.

The Spotted Spreadwing has lightning-fast reflexes and spiky legs to snatch small flying insects right out of the air for a quick meal.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 40-55 mm
Size: 30-45 mm
Lifespan: 30-60 days
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Tiny flying insects are the favorite meal for the Spotted Spreadwing!

Age differences: Nymphs eat aquatic invertebrates; adults hunt flying insects.

Primary Foods

mosquitoes
midges
gnats
small flies

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

eats

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

Hunts these tiny pests in the air.

eaten by

Green Frog

Rana clamitans

A quick snack for hungry frogs near water.

eaten by

Mosquitofish

Gambusia affinis

Eats its young (nymphs) living underwater.

shelters

Cattail

Typha latifolia

Resting and hunting perches among its stalks.

Traits

Spotted

Marked with spots or patches of a different color.

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.