Dark Spreadwing
(Lestes macrostigma)

The Dark Spreadwing is a fairly large, dark-bodied damselfly. Like all members of the genus Lestes, it holds its wings spread out when at rest, typically at an angle of about 45 degrees. Lestes macrostigma populations occur in small, scattered pockets throughout Central and Southern Europe and are typically associated with Sea Club-Rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus) in stagnant, shallow and often brackish water. Our first and only site for this species to date is on Sardinia's West coast. The species' most distinctive features include the extensive powdery-blue pruinescence which covers S1, S2 and S8-S10 of males and females alike, and the large black pterostigma.

For an overview of the Dark Spreadwing's distribution in Europe, hover your mouse pointer over the map symbol .
With the authors' permission we have based this map on data published in Kalkman et al. (2010).

Hover your mouse pointer over a thumbnail below to display a larger version of it. Or click on a thumbnail to display the photograph (at 1050 x 700 pixels) in a new window. And then, if you'd like to get even closer, you can drag the ZoomBox from the top-left corner of that window across the photograph. Note that you may have to refresh the window manually (by pressing F5 on your keyboard) for the ZoomBox to display correctly.