Common Spreadwing

• Its genus, Lestes, comes from the Greek lestes, thief or pirate.
• Unlike most damselflies, it holds its wings partly open when perched, a characteristic trait of the whole family Lestidae.
• In central and northern Europe it is the commonest lestid, but on the Iberian Peninsula it is scarce.
• It perches with its wings half-open, at an angle, something no other European damselfly does: the rest close them over the back, and the true dragonflies hold them outstretched. Hence the family's name, the spreadwings.
• Its eggs withstand drying out: it lays them inside rush stems above the waterline, and there they spend the winter until the pond fills again.
• That lets it breed in temporary ponds that dry up every summer, a habitat closed to most odonates.
• Its larval development is extremely fast, barely two or three months, so as to finish before the water disappears.
• Its colour is metallic green with bronze glints, and with maturity the males develop bluish pruinescence at the tip of the abdomen.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat and environment

Waters with emergent vegetation. On the Iberian Peninsula it is more abundant in the northern third, although it also occurs in the centre of the peninsula

Gestation / incubation

The eggs overwinter and the nymphs then develop over 2-3 months

Litter / clutch size

The female lays accompanied by the male, placing the eggs on plants that emerge from the water

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List (Kalkman 2014); Naturaleza Para Todos; Animalandia (Comunidad de Madrid); Waste Magazine (Guía de odonatos ibéricos)

Best time: Warm summer days, flitting near the water