# Lestes

Lestes is a genus of damselfly in the family Lestidae. The family hold their wings at about 45 degrees to the body when resting. This distinguishes them from most other species of damselflies which hold the wings along, and parallel to, the body when at rest.
The name Lestes comes from the Greek word λῃστής (lēistēs) meaning predator.

## Extant Species

The genus Lestes includes the following species:
| Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
| Lestes alacer Hagen, 1861 | Plateau Spreadwing | Central America and North America |
| Lestes alfonsoi González & Novelo, 2001 | | Central America. |
| Lestes amicus Martin, 1910 | | Congo, Tanzania, Angola |
| Lestes angularis Fraser, 1929 | | India |
| Lestes apollinaris Navás, 1934 | | Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela |
| Lestes auripennis Fraser, 1955 | | Madagascar |
| Lestes auritus Hagen in Selys, 1862 | | Brazil |
| Lestes australis Walker, 1952 | Southern Spreadwing | North America |
| Lestes barbarus (Fabricius, 1798) | Southern Emerald Damselfly, Migrant Spreadwing | Europe in a band across Spain, France, Italy and Greece to India and Mongolia. |
| Lestes basidens Belle, 1997 | | Surinam |
| Lestes bipupillatus Calvert, 1909 | | Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina |
| Lestes concinnus Hagen in Selys, 1862 | Dusky Spreadwing | India, Southeast Asia as far as New Caledonia, and northern parts of Australia |
| Lestes congener Hagen, 1861 | Spotted Spreadwing | Canada and in the United States |
| Lestes curvatus Belle, 1997 | | Surinam |
| Lestes debellardi De Marmels, 1992 | | Surinam |
| Lestes dichrostigma Calvert, 1909 | | Brazil |
| Lestes disjunctus Selys, 1862 | Northern Spreadwing | United States and Canada. |
| Lestes dissimulans Fraser, 1955 | Cryptic Spreadwing | Angola; Benin; Botswana; Côte d'Ivoire; Chad; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes dorothea Fraser, 1924 | Forest Spreadwing | south and northeast India to Thailand and Malaysia |
| Lestes dryas Kirby, 1890 | Emerald Spreadwing, Scarce Emerald Damselfly, Robust Spreadwing, Turlough Spreadwing | central Europe and Asia from France to the Pacific and across North America |
| Lestes elatus Hagen in Selys, 1862 | | India, Thailand and Sri Lanka. |
| Lestes eurinus Say, 1839 | Amber-winged Spreadwing | Northeastern North America |
| Lestes falcifer Sjöstedt, 1918 | | Venezuela |
| Lestes fernandoi Costa, De Souza & Muzón, 2006 | | Brazil |
| Lestes forcipatus Rambur, 1842 | Sweetflag Spreadwing | Canada and the United States |
| Lestes forficula Rambur, 1842 | Rainpool Spreadwing | Caribbean Sea, Central America, North America, and South America |
| Lestes garoensis Lahiri, 1987 | | India |
| Lestes helix Ris, 1918 | | Peru, Venezuela |
| Lestes henshawi Calvert, 1907 | | Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela |
| Lestes ictericus Gerstäcker, 1869 | Tawny Spreadwing | Benin; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gambia; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; South Sudan; Sudan; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes inaequalis Walsh, 1862 | Elegant Spreadwing | eastern Canada and the United States |
| Lestes japonicus Selys, 1883 | | Japan, Korean Peninsula, Eastern Russia |
| Lestes jerrelli Tennessen, 1997 | | Ecuador |
| Lestes jurzitzai Muzon, 1994 | | Brazil |
| Lestes macrostigma (Eversmann, 1836) | Dark Emerald Damselfly or Dark Spreadwing | Europe into Central Asia and the Middle East |
| Lestes malabaricus Fraser, 1929 | | Sri Lanka, South India and Andaman Islands |
| Lestes malaisei Schmidt, 1964 | | Myanmar |
| Lestes minutus Selys, 1862 | | Brazil, Trinidad, Venezuela |
| Lestes nigriceps Fraser, 1924 | | Cambodia |
| Lestes nodalis Selys, 1891 | | Northeast India, Thailand and China. |
| Lestes numidicus Samraoui, Weekers & Dumont, 2003 | | Algeria |
| Lestes ochraceus Selys, 1862 | | Benin; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes pallidus Rambur, 1842 | | Angola; Botswana; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Chad; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; Somalia; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes patricia Fraser, 1924 | | Western Ghats in India |
| Lestes paulistus Calvert, 1909 | | Brazil |
| Lestes pictus Hagen in Selys, 1862 | | Brazil |
| Lestes pinheyi Fraser, 1955 | Pinhey's Spreadwing | Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Ghana; Malawi; Namibia; Nigeria; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes plagiatus (Burmeister, 1839) | Highland Spreadwing | Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes praecellens Lieftinck, 1937 | | Malaysia |
| Lestes praemorsus Hagen in Selys, 1862 | | India to China and south to New Guinea |
| Lestes praevius Lieftinck, 1940 | | Sabah |
| Lestes pruinescens Martin, 1910 | | Madagascar |
| Lestes quadristriatus Calvert, 1909 | | Brazil |
| Lestes rectangularis Say, 1839 | Slender Spreadwing | eastern Canada and the United States |
| Lestes regulatus Martin, 1910 | | Ethiopia |
| Lestes scalaris Gundlach, 1888 | | Caribbean |
| Lestes secula May, 1993 | | Panama |
| Lestes sigma Calvert, 1901 | Chalky Spreadwing | Central America and North America |
| Lestes silvaticus Schmidt, 1951 | | Madagascar |
| Lestes simplex Hagen, 1861 | | Mexico |
| Lestes simulatrix McLachlan, 1895 | | Madagascar |
| Lestes spatula Fraser, 1946 | | Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay |
| Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823) | Emerald Damselfly, Common Spreadwing | central Europe and Asia from Spain to the Pacific |
| Lestes spumarius Hagen in Selys, 1862 | Antillean Spreadwing | Caribbean Sea and North America. |
| Lestes sternalis Navás, 1930 | | Colombia |
| Lestes stultus Hagen, 1861 | Black Spreadwing | United States |
| Lestes temporalis Selys, 1883 | | Japan |
| Lestes tenuatus Rambur, 1842 | Blue-striped Spreadwing | Central America, Ecuador |
| Lestes thoracicus Laidlaw, 1920 | emerald-striped spreadwing | Bangladesh, India, and Thailand |
| Lestes tikalus Kormoondy, 1959 | | Guatemala |
| Lestes trichonus Belle, 1997 | | Surinam |
| Lestes tricolor Erichson, 1848 | | British Guyana |
| Lestes tridens McLachlan, 1895 | Spotted Spreadwing | Angola; Botswana; Côte d'Ivoire; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Gabon; Kenya; Liberia; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Somalia; Tanzania; Togo; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes umbrinus Selys, 1891 | | Myanmar |
| Lestes uncifer Karsch, 1899 | Sickle Spreadwing | Cameroon; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Republic of South Africa; Somalia; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes undulatus Say, 1840 | | Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile |
| Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861 | Lyre-tipped Spreadwing | United States |
| Lestes urubamba Kennedy, 1942 | | Peru |
| Lestes vidua Hagen, 1861 | Carolina Spreadwing | United States |
| Lestes vigilax Hagen in Selys, 1862 | Swamp Spreadwing | United States |
| Lestes virens (Charpentier, 1825) | Small Emerald Damselfly, Small Spreadwing | Algeria; Morocco; Tunisia |
| Lestes virgatus (Burmeister, 1839) | Smoky Spreadwing | Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Lestes viridulus Rambur, 1842 | Emerald-striped Spreadwing | India |

## Fossils

* †Lestes aquisextana
* †Lestes arvernus
* †Lestes brisaci
* †Lestes ceresti
* †Lestes conexus
* †Lestes datangensis
* †Lestes dianacompteae
* †Lestes forsterii
* †Lestes irenea
* †Lestes leucosia
* †Lestes ligea
* †Lestes lutzi
* †Lestes peisinoe
* †Lestes plicata
* †Lestes regina
* †Lestes sieblosiformis
* †Lestes statzi
* †Lestes vicina
* †Lestes zalesskyi