Lestes
Disjunctus
(Common Spreadwing)
Description:
Naiad-
This is a long naiad 1 to 1 ¼
inches (23 to 29 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. The thorax is bronze-black with a yellow stripe
down the center on the upper surface. In the males, the lower anal appendages
are more than half as long as the upper appendages.
Range:
This damselfly has an extensive
range. It is found from Alaska across northern Canada to Labrador, and south
to Florida and California. In Idaho it is found throughout the state.
Habitat:
This species is found
at a wide range of aquatic habitats, but is most numerous in weedy ponds, marshes,
and slow streams.
Adult Flight Season:
July 4 to October
17
Diet:
Naiad-
Naiads eat a wide variety of aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae, mayfly
larvae, and other aquatic fly larvae.
Adult-
Adults eat a wide variety of small soft-bodied flying insects, such as mosquitoes,
mayflies, flies and small moths.
Ecology:
This species is extremely
widespread, and tends to be very abundant in its favored habitats. At the large
marsh north of Bear Lake this species swarms in late summer, together with the
Spotted Spreadwing (L. congener), and the Lyre-tipped Spreadwing (L. unguiculatus).
The naiads are very active, rapacious hunters, which makes them vulnerable to
predation by fish. As a result, they are often found in shallow marshes and
ponds areas that may dry up in summer, and thus lacks fish. However, this species
does occur in permanent bodies of water as well. The naiads have from the time
the pond fills up in the spring to when it dries up in the summer to mature
and emerge.
Reproduction:
After males and females
mate, the female Common Spreadwing flies in tandem to oviposit in vegetation
that is growing out of the water. She usually lays her eggs well above the waterline.
Conservation:
Populations
are widespread, abundant, and secure.
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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 Unpublished M. S. thesis.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.