Lestes
Unguiculatus
(Lyre-tipped Spreadwing)
Description:
Naiad-
This is a long naiad a bit over
1 inch (27 to 28 mm) long. It has the typical slender damselfly shape. The color
is medium to dark brown.
Adult-
This is a large damselfly 1 ¼ to 1 ¾ inches (30 to 41 mm) long. The build is
slender with short wings in proportion to the length of the abdomen. Both the
males and females
are mostly bronzy-green on the upper surface of the thorax and abdomen. The
lower pair of anal appendages is "S"shaped with the tips pointing outwards when
viewed from above.
Range:
This species is found across
North America from southern British Columbia east to Nova Scotia and south to
New Jersey, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and California. In Idaho it is found throughout
the state.
Habitat:
This damselfly is found
at ponds that are exposed to the sun, and it seems to prefer ponds that dry
up in the summer. The naiads do well in alkaline water.
Adult Flight Season:
June 30 to August
27
Diet:
Naiad-
Naiads eat a wide variety of aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae, mayfly
larvae, and other aquatic fly larvae.
Adult-
The damselfly eats a wide variety of small soft-bodied flying insects, such
as mosquitoes, mayflies, flies and small moths.
Ecology:
This species can be
incredibly abundant at large sedge marshes, such as the one north of Bear Lake.
The naiads are very active, rapacious hunters, and because of this, are vulnerable
to predation by fish. As a result they are generally found in shallow marshes
and ponds that may dry up in summer and thus lack fish. The naiads mature and
emerge in the short period from the time the pond fills in the spring to when
it dries in the summer.
Reproduction:
After males and females
mate, the female Lyre-tipped Spreadwing lays eggs well above the waterline on
vegetation that grows out of water. Where populations are extremely dense they
can actually damage the plants on which they lay their eggs.
Conservation:
Populations
are widespread, abundant, and secure.
![]() |
![]() |
Global Rank: | G5 |
State Rank: | S? |
References:
Corbet, P. S. 1999.
Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
New York, USA, 829pp.
Logan, E. R. 1967. The Odonata of Idaho. Unpublished M. S. thesis. University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA, 105 pp.
Needham, J. G. and M. J. Westfall. 1955. Dragonflies of North America. University of California Press, Berkely, California, USA, 615 pp.
Paulson, D. R. 1999. Dragonflies of Washington. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington, USA, 32 pp.
Walker, E. M. and P. S. Corbet. 1975. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska, Vol. III. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 307 pp.