# Lestes

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For the suffix "-lestes", see [List of commonly used taxonomic affixes](/source/List_of_commonly_used_taxonomic_affixes).

***Lestes*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of [damselfly](/source/Damselfly) in the family [Lestidae](/source/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.

## Etymology

The name *Lestes* comes from the [Greek](/source/Greek_language) word λῃστής (lēistēs) meaning *thief*, referring to the predatory behaviour of species in this genus.[3][4]

## Extant Species

The genus *Lestes* includes the following species:[5]

Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution Lestes alacer Hagen, 1861 Plateau Spreadwing[6] Central America and North America Lestes alfonsoi González & Novelo, 2001 Central America. Lestes amicus Martin, 1910 Congo, Tanzania, Angola Lestes angularis Fraser, 1929 India Lestes apollinaris Navás, 1934 Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela Lestes auripennis Fraser, 1955 Madagascar Lestes auritus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Brazil Lestes australis Walker, 1952 Southern Spreadwing[6] North America Lestes barbarus (Fabricius, 1798) Southern Emerald Damselfly,[7] Migrant Spreadwing[8] Europe in a band across Spain, France, Italy and Greece to India and Mongolia. Lestes basidens Belle, 1997 Surinam Lestes bipupillatus Calvert, 1909 Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina Lestes concinnus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Dusky Spreadwing India, Southeast Asia as far as New Caledonia, and northern parts of Australia Lestes congener Hagen, 1861 Spotted Spreadwing[6] Canada and in the United States Lestes curvatus Belle, 1997 Surinam Lestes debellardi De Marmels, 1992 Surinam Lestes dichrostigma Calvert, 1909 Brazil Lestes disjunctus Selys, 1862 Northern Spreadwing[6] United States and Canada. Lestes dissimulans Fraser, 1955 Cryptic Spreadwing Angola; 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, 1924 Forest Spreadwing south and northeast India to Thailand and Malaysia Lestes dryas Kirby, 1890 Emerald Spreadwing,[6] Scarce Emerald Damselfly,[7] Robust Spreadwing,[8] Turlough Spreadwing[9] central Europe and Asia from France to the Pacific and across North America Lestes elatus Hagen in Selys, 1862 India, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Lestes eurinus Say, 1839 Amber-winged Spreadwing[6] Northeastern North America Lestes falcifer Sjöstedt, 1918 Venezuela Lestes fernandoi Costa, De Souza & Muzón, 2006 Brazil Lestes forcipatus Rambur, 1842 Sweetflag Spreadwing[6] Canada and the United States Lestes forficula Rambur, 1842 Rainpool Spreadwing[6] Caribbean Sea, Central America, North America, and South America Lestes garoensis Lahiri, 1987 India Lestes helix Ris, 1918 Peru, Venezuela Lestes henshawi Calvert, 1907 Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela Lestes ictericus Gerstäcker, 1869 Tawny Spreadwing Benin; 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, 1862 Elegant Spreadwing[6] eastern Canada and the United States Lestes japonicus Selys, 1883 Japan, Korean Peninsula, Eastern Russia Lestes jerrelli Tennessen, 1997 Ecuador Lestes jurzitzai Muzon, 1994 Brazil Lestes macrostigma (Eversmann, 1836) Dark Emerald Damselfly[10] or Dark Spreadwing[8] Europe into Central Asia and the Middle East Lestes malabaricus Fraser, 1929 Sri Lanka, South India and Andaman Islands Lestes malaisei Schmidt, 1964 Myanmar Lestes minutus Selys, 1862 Brazil, Trinidad, Venezuela Lestes nigriceps Fraser, 1924 Cambodia Lestes nodalis Selys, 1891 Northeast India, Thailand and China. Lestes numidicus Samraoui, Weekers & Dumont, 2003 Algeria Lestes ochraceus Selys, 1862 Benin; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes pallidus Rambur, 1842 Angola; 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, 1924 Western Ghats in India Lestes paulistus Calvert, 1909 Brazil Lestes pictus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Brazil Lestes pinheyi Fraser, 1955 Pinhey's Spreadwing Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Ghana; Malawi; Namibia; Nigeria; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes plagiatus (Burmeister, 1839) Highland Spreadwing Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes praecellens Lieftinck, 1937 Malaysia Lestes praemorsus Hagen in Selys, 1862 India to China and south to New Guinea Lestes praevius Lieftinck, 1940 Sabah Lestes pruinescens Martin, 1910 Madagascar Lestes quadristriatus Calvert, 1909 Brazil Lestes rectangularis Say, 1839 Slender Spreadwing[6] eastern Canada and the United States Lestes regulatus Martin, 1910 Ethiopia Lestes scalaris Gundlach, 1888 Caribbean Lestes secula May, 1993 Panama Lestes sigma Calvert, 1901 Chalky Spreadwing[6] Central America and North America Lestes silvaticus Schmidt, 1951 Madagascar Lestes simplex Hagen, 1861 Mexico Lestes simulatrix McLachlan, 1895 Madagascar Lestes spatula Fraser, 1946 Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823) Emerald Damselfly,[7] Common Spreadwing[8][9] central Europe and Asia from Spain to the Pacific Lestes spumarius Hagen in Selys, 1862 Antillean Spreadwing[6] Caribbean Sea and North America. Lestes sternalis Navás, 1930 Colombia Lestes stultus Hagen, 1861 Black Spreadwing[6] United States Lestes temporalis Selys, 1883 Japan Lestes tenuatus Rambur, 1842 Blue-striped Spreadwing Central America, Ecuador Lestes thoracicus Laidlaw, 1920 emerald-striped spreadwing Bangladesh, India, and Thailand Lestes tikalus Kormoondy, 1959 Guatemala Lestes trichonus Belle, 1997 Surinam Lestes tricolor Erichson, 1848 British Guyana Lestes tridens McLachlan, 1895 Spotted Spreadwing Angola; 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, 1891 Myanmar Lestes uncifer Karsch, 1899 Sickle Spreadwing Cameroon; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Republic of South Africa; Somalia; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes undulatus Say, 1840 Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861 Lyre-tipped Spreadwing[6] United States Lestes urubamba Kennedy, 1942 Peru Lestes vidua Hagen, 1861 Carolina Spreadwing[6] United States Lestes vigilax Hagen in Selys, 1862 Swamp Spreadwing[6] United States Lestes virens (Charpentier, 1825) Small Emerald Damselfly,[10] Small Spreadwing[8] Algeria; Morocco; Tunisia Lestes virgatus (Burmeister, 1839) Smoky Spreadwing Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Lestes viridulus Rambur, 1842 Emerald-striped Spreadwing India

## Fossils

- *[Lestes aquisextana](/source/Lestes_aquisextana)*
- *[Lestes arvernus](/source/Lestes_arvernus)*
- *[Lestes brisaci](/source/Lestes_brisaci)*
- *[Lestes ceresti](/source/Lestes_ceresti)*
- *[Lestes conexus](/source/Lestes_conexus)*
- *[Lestes datangensis](/source/Lestes_datangensis)*
- *[Lestes dianacompteae](/source/Lestes_dianacompteae)*
- *[Lestes forsterii](/source/Lestes_forsterii)*
- *[Lestes irenea](/source/Lestes_irenea)*
- *[Lestes leucosia](/source/Lestes_leucosia)*
- *[Lestes ligea](/source/Lestes_ligea)*
- *[Lestes lutzi](/source/Lestes_lutzi)*
- *[Lestes peisinoe](/source/Lestes_peisinoe)*
- *[Lestes plicata](/source/Lestes_plicata)*
- *[Lestes regina](/source/Lestes_regina)*
- *[Lestes sieblosiformis](/source/Lestes_sieblosiformis)*
- *[Lestes statzi](/source/Lestes_statzi)*
- *[Lestes vicina](/source/Lestes_vicina)*
- *[Lestes zalesskyi](/source/Lestes_zalesskyi)*

## See also

- [Chalcolestes](/source/Chalcolestes)

## References

1. Leach, W.E. (1815). ["Entomology"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/17493627). *The Edinburgh Encyclopedia*. Vol. 9. reprint 1830 ed. Edinburgh: William Blackburn. pp. 57–172 [137]. [doi:10.5962/bhl.title.30911](https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.30911)

1. ["Genus *Lestes* Leach, 1815"](https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Lestes). *[Australian Faunal Directory](/source/Australian_Faunal_Directory)*. [Australian Biological Resources Study](/source/Australian_Biological_Resources_Study). 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

1. Costantino D’Antonio and Francesca Vegliante. ["Derivatio nominis libellularum europæarum"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316791278_Derivatio_nominis_libellularum_europaearum) (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2025.

1. Endersby, Ian & Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). [*The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies*](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283318421_The_Naming_of_Australia's_Dragonflies). Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.

1. ["North American Odonata"](https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/slater-museum/biodiversity-resources/dragonflies/north-american-odonata/). University of Puget Sound. 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2010.

1. ["Checklist of UK Species"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110416041454/http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/uk-species). [British Dragonfly Society](/source/British_Dragonfly_Society). Archived from [the original](http://british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/uk-species) on 16 April 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.

1. ["Checklist, English common names"](https://archive.today/20121204160258/http://www.dragonflypix.com/checklist.html). DragonflyPix.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.dragonflypix.com/checklist.html) on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2010.

1. Brian Nelson & Robert Thompson (2004). *The Natural History of Ireland's Dragonflies*. Ulster Museum. ISBN 978-0-900761-45-4.

1. Jacques d'Aguilar; Jean-Louis Dommanget; René Préchac (1986). *Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain, Europe and North Africa*. [Collins](/source/HarperCollins)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lestes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lestes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lestes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.