Flight season: early June to late July.
Population: less frequently encountered than other Lestes species.
This damselfly has also been sighted at the H. R. Frink Center, and a small stream near near 862 French Settlement Road north of Tweed.
Length: about 50 mm. Elegant Spreadwings can be separated from Emerald Spreadwings by their longer, more gracile bodies
and (in the case of males) by their claspers, particularly the paraprocts, which are longer than the cerci.
Female Swamp Spreadwings inhabit the north shore of Stoco Lake and can be confused with female Elegant Spreadwings.
However, a female Elegant Spreadwing's tibiae are yellow (the Swamp Spreadwing's are black),
and the abdomen is robust compared to the Swamp Spreadwing's, having a distinctly ringed or segmented appearance.
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Tweed, Ontario, the north shore Stoco Lake, east of the boat pier:
marshy shoreline, relatively shallow water with mud bottom supporting sedges and rushes, pondweeds, Fragrant Water Lily, Blue Flag, Sagittaria spp and Pickerelweed.
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Images of a male Elegant Spreadwing (Lestes inaequalis) and the ventral aspect of its claspers,
the paraprocts are longer than the cerci (June 04, 2010).
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Male Elegant Spreadwing (Lestes inaequalis) and its claspers
(July 16, 2014).
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Female Elegant Spreadwing (Lestes inaequalis)
August 11, 2009
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Female Elegant Spreadwing (Lestes inaequalis)
June 26, 2014
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Tweed, Ontario, the Moira River near the walking bridge and dam:
rock-bottomed river with fast flowing water, rapids and emergent rocks, but also quiet pools and backwaters.
The shoreline vegetation is mostly trees with a few small clearings supporting tall grasses and wildflowers.
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Female Elegant Spreadwing (Lestes inaequalis)
June 14, 2010
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