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Sticker of Spotted spreadwing
Bug card No. 4124 of 4,939

Spotted spreadwing

Lestes congener
Name means: “after the two dark spots on the sides of its chest”

The spotted spreadwing is a slim damselfly with a slate grey body and clear wings. Most damselflies fold their wings together when they rest, but this one holds them half open. It is named after two dark spots on the sides of its chest.

Lives in
Most of Canada and the United States, except the southeast, near ponds, marshes and slow water
Length
3.2 to 4.2 cm (1.3 to 1.7 in)
Top speed
about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Damselflies have no sting and cannot hurt you.
What does it eat?
Like all damselflies, it hunts small insects. Its babies live in the water and hunt there.
For real!Photo of Spotted spreadwing
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Spotted spreadwing about 4.2 cm long (1.7 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 7 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 34 secondsmoves 73 times its own body length every second

How big is Spotted spreadwing compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

When it rests, it holds its wings at a slant, about halfway open.

2

Males have blue eyes, but females always have brown eyes.

3

The last two parts of its long tail are pale grey.

4

Its babies are light brown and grow up to 25 millimetres long.

5

In the west it tends to grow a little bigger than in the east.

you asked

Most asked questions about Spotted spreadwing

?How do you know it is a spreadwing?

It rests with its wings held half open instead of folded together.

?Where does the spotted spreadwing live?

Across Canada and the United States, except the southeast, near ponds and marshes.

?How big is the spotted spreadwing?

It is about 3 to 4 centimetres long. Females are a bit smaller than males.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Lestes congener
Group
Dragonflies and damselflies
Family
Lestidae
Classification
Insecta > Odonata > Lestidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Lestes congener (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Dragonflies and damselflies

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

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