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Lestes unguiculatus
Lyre-Tipped Spreadwing
Family: Lestidae
Species account author: Robert Cannings.
Extracted from Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon (2002)

Photograph

© George Doerksen     (Photo ID #997)

Map

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Distribution of Lestes unguiculatus in British Columbia.
(Click on the map to view a larger version.)
Source: (for the static map) RBCM and BCCDC 2004 ©

Species Information


Description

Similar to the Common Spreadwing, but the tips of the male's lower appendages curve outward like the shape of a lyre, which gives the species it's English name. On most, the back of the head is mostly pale, especially in females, which do not darken with age as much as males. Length: ♂ 37 mm, ♀ 35 mm.


Flight Period

B.C., early June to mid September.

Genus Description


Large damselflies, brown, black, metallic-green or bronze above, mostly pale below. As they age, parts of the body, including the tip of the abdomen in males, often become pruinose bluish white. Females lay eggs in tandem with males, usually in plants above the surface of the water. The larvae are long and slender with banded gills and an unusually elongated labium. Some species are adapted to temporary ponds; the eggs overwinter and the larvae grow rapidly after the basin fills with water in the winter or spring.

Biology

Family Description

A small but widely distributed family in B.C., containing only one genus here, Lestes, with five species. The common name comes from the characteristic posture of the adults - they usually perch with wings half-spread.
Field Notes

Typical of warm ponds at low elevations, especially temporary and alkaline ponds. Less commonly, it lives in peatland pools and sedge fens in the mountains.

Distribution


Widespread. In B.C., found south of about 56°N; distinctly more common in the southern valleys.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)
COSEWIC
NativeS5YellowNot Listed



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.