Emerald Spreadwing / Leste dryade
Lestes dryas
Fundy Nature Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes 2
Adult size: 32-40 mm
Habitat/Status: A common inhabitant of a variety of ponds, particularly somewhat shaded, permanent forest ponds; also vernal ponds, beaver ponds, bog pools and slow streams in the Maritimes.
Typical flight period: In the Maritimes, flies from the second week in June until the end of August (dates June 7th PE- Sept 11th NS).
ID hints: This tends to be the earliest of the spreadwings to emerge in numbers. It also seems to be one of the first to disappear in late summer. It averages more stout-bodied and brightly metallic-green than our other spreadwings, although most other species do show some similar coloration. In this species, both male and female are uniformly and quite brightly metallic green dorsally.
General Nature Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes:
*Like all spreadwings, the female Emerald Spreadwing uses her strong, blade-like ovipositor to slice open the stem of a plant to lay its eggs. The section of the plant in which she lays her egg may be above or below water, in a permanent or a temporary pond that is almost completely dry, but come next spring the plant will likely be under sufficient water for the eggs to hatch and develop quickly, before the water level gets too low or even disappears.
*Unlike the Northern and Spotted Spreadwing, this species is apparently rather intolerant of ponds with high conductivity (salt content).
*Another note of interest: In each of the nine species of Spreadwings in New Brunswick, all males mature have blue eyes and the females do not (typically brown).
Summary 3
Lestes dryas is a species of damselfly which is found across Europe, Asia and North America. In North America, it is known as the Emerald Spreadwing and this name is becoming more widely used in Europe. In Britain, it is very rare so its common name is the Scarce Emerald Damselfly. An alternate name in Ireland is the Turlough Spreadwing.L. dryas can tolerate extreme conditions that few other dragonflies can survive.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Denis Doucet, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Denis Doucet
- (c) Denis Doucet, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
- Adapted by Denis Doucet from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lestes_dryas
More Info
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Family | Lestidae (Spreadwing Damsels) |
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