Lestidae

The Lestidae are a rather small family of cosmopolitan, large-sized, slender damselflies,
known commonly as the spreadwings or spread-winged damselflies.
Fossil lestids are known from the Late Eocene onwards.

Characteristics

While most damselflies rest with their wings folded together, most members of the family Lestidae hold them at an angle away from their bodies. The pterostigma is noticeably elongated. The quadrilateral has an acute angle at the end. The body has a greenish, metallic shine. The superior anal appendages, commonly called claspers of male spreadwings are long and strongly curved.
Breeding takes place in slow-moving or still water in stream backwaters, swamps, marshes and temporary pools. The nymphs have a long abdomen and a distinctive prementum. There is one generation per year in North American species.

Taxonomy

The two subfamilies in Lestidae are Lestinae and Sympecmatinae. Damselflies in the Lestinae rest with their wings partly open, while those in the Sympecmatinae, the reedlings, ringtails, and winter damselflies, rest with their wings folded. The exact taxonomy of the family is disputed, with some authorities including twelve genera and some eight.
Genera include:

SubFamily	Image	Genus	Extant species
Sympecmatinae Fraser, 1951		Archilestes Selys, 1862	Archilestes exoletus Archilestes grandis - Great Spreadwing Archilestes guayaraca De Marmels, 1982 Archilestes latialatus Donnelly, 1981 Archilestes neblina Garrison, 1982 Archilestes regalis Gloyd, 1944 Archilestes tuberalatus
Sympecmatinae Fraser, 1951		Indolestes Fraser, 1922	Indolestes albicaudus Indolestes alfurus Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes alleni - Small Reedling Indolestes anomalus Fraser, 1946 Indolestes aruanus Lieftinck, 1951 Indolestes assamicus Fraser, 1930 Indolestes bellax Indolestes bilineatus Indolestes birmanus Indolestes boninensis Indolestes cheesmanae Kimmins, 1936 Indolestes coeruleus Fraser, 1924 Indolestes cyaneus Indolestes dajakanus Indolestes davenporti Indolestes divisus Indolestes extraneus Indolestes floresianus Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes goniocercus Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes gracilis Indolestes guizhouensis Zhou & Zhou, 2005 Indolestes indicus Fraser, 1922 Indolestes inflatus Indolestes linsleyi Lieftinck, 1960 Indolestes lundquisti Indolestes luxatus Indolestes lygisticercus Indolestes obiri Watson, 1979 - Cave Reedling Indolestes peregrinus Indolestes pulcherrimus Fraser, 1924 Indolestes risi Indolestes sutteri Lieftinck, 1953 Indolestes tenuissimus Tillyard, 1906 - Slender Reedling Indolestes vitiensis
Sympecmatinae Fraser, 1951		Sympecma Burmeister, 1839	Sympecma fusca – Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma gobica Förster, 1900 Sympecma paedisca – Siberian Winter Damsel
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Austrolestes Tillyard, 1913	Austrolestes aleison Watson & Moulds, 1979 - Western ringtail Austrolestes analis - Slender ringtail Austrolestes annulosus - Blue ringtail Austrolestes aridus - Inland ringtail Austrolestes cingulatus - Metallic ringtail Austrolestes colensonis - Blue damselfly, kekewai Austrolestes insularis Tillyard, 1913 - Northern ringtail Austrolestes io - Iota ringtail Austrolestes leda - Wandering ringtail Austrolestes minjerriba Watson, 1979 - Dune ringtail Austrolestes psyche - Cup ringtail
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Chalcolestes Kennedy, 1920	Chalcolestes parvidens – Eastern Willow Spreadwing Chalcolestes viridis – Willow Emerald Damselfly,
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Lestes Leach, 1815	Lestes alacer Hagen, 1861 – Plateau SpreadwingLestes alfonsoi González & Novelo, 2001Lestes amicus Martin, 1910Lestes angularis Fraser, 1929Lestes apollinaris Navás, 1934Lestes auripennis Fraser, 1955Lestes auritus Hagen in Selys, 1862Lestes australis Walker, 1952 – Southern SpreadwingLestes barbarus – Southern Emerald Damselfly, Migrant SpreadwingLestes basidens Belle, 1997Lestes bipupillatus Calvert, 1909Lestes concinnus Hagen in Selys, 1862Lestes congener Hagen, 1861 – Spotted SpreadwingLestes curvatus Belle, 1997Lestes debellardi De Marmels, 1992Lestes dichrostigma Calvert, 1909Lestes disjunctus Selys, 1862 – Northern SpreadwingLestes dissimulans Fraser, 1955Lestes dorothea Fraser, 1924Lestes dryas Kirby, 1890 – Emerald Spreadwing, Scarce Emerald Damselfly,Lestes elatus Hagen in Selys, 1862Lestes eurinus Say, 1839 – Amber-winged SpreadwingLestes falcifer Sjöstedt, 1918Lestes fernandoi Costa, De Souza & Muzón, 2006Lestes forcipatus Rambur, 1842 – Sweetflag SpreadwingLestes forficula Rambur, 1842 – Rainpool SpreadwingLestes garoensis Lahiri, 1987Lestes helix Ris, 1918Lestes henshawi Calvert, 1907Lestes ictericus Gerstäcker, 1869Lestes inaequalis Walsh, 1862 – Elegant SpreadwingLestes japonicus Selys, 1883Lestes jerrelli Tennessen, 1997Lestes jurzitzai Muzon, 1994Lestes macrostigma – Dark Emerald DamselflyLestes malabaricus Fraser, 1929Lestes malaisei Schmidt, 1964Lestes minutus Selys, 1862Lestes nigriceps Fraser, 1924Lestes nodalis Selys, 1891Lestes numidicus Samraoui, Weekers & Dumont, 2003Lestes ochraceus Selys, 1862Lestes pallidus Rambur, 1842Lestes patricia Fraser, 1924Lestes paulistus Calvert, 1909Lestes pictus Hagen in Selys, 1862Lestes pinheyi Fraser, 1955Lestes plagiatus Lestes praecellens Lieftinck, 1937Lestes praemorsus Hagen in Selys, 1862Lestes praevius Lieftinck, 1940Lestes pruinescens Martin, 1910Lestes quadristriatus Calvert, 1909Lestes rectangularis Say, 1839 – Slender SpreadwingLestes regulatus Martin, 1910Lestes scalaris Gundlach, 1888Lestes secula May, 1993Lestes sigma Calvert, 1901 – Chalky SpreadwingLestes silvaticus Schmidt, 1951Lestes simplex Hagen, 1861Lestes simulatrix McLachlan, 1895Lestes spatula Fraser, 1946Lestes sponsa – Emerald Damselfly,Lestes spumarius Hagen in Selys, 1862 – Antillean SpreadwingLestes sternalis Navás, 1930Lestes stultus Hagen, 1861 – Black SpreadwingLestes temporalis Selys, 1883Lestes tenuatus Rambur, 1842 – Blue-striped SpreadwingLestes thoracicus Laidlaw, 1920Lestes tikalus Kormoondy, 1959Lestes trichonus Belle, 1997Lestes tricolor Erichson, 1848Lestes tridens McLachlan, 1895Lestes umbrinus Selys, 1891Lestes uncifer Karsch, 1899Lestes undulatus Say, 1840Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861 – Lyre-tipped SpreadwingLestes urubamba Kennedy, 1942Lestes vidua Hagen, 1861 – Carolina SpreadwingLestes vigilax Hagen in Selys, 1862 – Swamp SpreadwingLestes virens – Small Emerald Damselfly,Lestes virgatus Lestes viridulus Rambur, 1842
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Orolestes	Orolestes durga Lahiri, 1987Orolestes excelsus Fraser, 1933Orolestes motis Baijal & Agarwal, 1956Orolestes octomaculatus Martin, 1904Orolestes selysi McLachlan, 1895Orolestes wallacei
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Platylestes Selys, 1862	Platylestes heterostylus Lieftinck, 1932 Platylestes kirani Platylestes pertinax Lieftinck, 1932Platylestes platystyla Rambur, 1842Platylestes platystylus
Lestinae Calvert 1901		Sinhalestes Fraser, 1951	Sinhalestes orientalis