| Sweetflag spreadwing | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conservation status | |
 Secure (NatureServe) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Lestidae |
| Genus: | Lestes |
| Species: | L. forcipatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lestes forcipatus Rambur, 1842 | |
The sweetflag spreadwing (Lestes forcipatus) is a species of damselfly in the family Lestidae, the spreadwings. It is native to North America, especially eastern parts of Canada and the United States.
Identification
This is a medium-sized spreadwing, measuring about 38 to 50 millimeters in length. The male has a dark or black thorax with tan or bluish sides and with pale stripes across the shoulders. The abdomen is dark with a light gray tip. The body is pruinescent, especially in older specimens. The female is thicker in build with a dark to black body. Both sexes may have a light brown spot on the underside of the thorax.
This species is difficult to distinguish from the common spreadwing (L. disjunctus).
Biology
This species lives near ponds, marshes, and slow-running streams.
References
- Lestes forcipatus – Sweetflag Spreadwing. The Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of the Columbia Basin, British Columbia. Royal BC Museum.
- ^ Lestes forcipatus. Wisconsin Odonata Survey. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
- Sweetflag Spreadwing, Lestes forcipatus. NJOdes: The Dragonflies and Damselflies of New Jersey.
- Simaika, J. P., & Cannings, R. A. (2004). Lestes disjunctus Selys and L. forcipatus Rambur (Odonata: Lestidae): some solutions for identification. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, 101, 131-140.
External links
- NatureServe.org: Lestes forcipatus — NatureServe Explorer. Version 7.1.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Lestes forcipatus | |