Bug FAQElegant Spreadwing
Lestes inaequalis · Order: Odonata · Family: Lestidae
The elegant spreadwing measures about 45 to 60 mm in length. Males show a metallic green and yellow thorax with a blue-tipped green abdomen, while females are bulkier with duller colors. It lives near freshwater such as streams, lakes, ponds and marshes, often under forest canopy.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Older specimens look pruinose, giving a frosted appearance. Females are thicker-bodied and display duller coloration.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are 45 to 60 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found near streams, lakes, ponds, marshes and other freshwater bodies. Often lives under the canopy in wooded areas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It preys on smaller damselflies.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Similar to the swamp spreadwing but larger, and to the amber-winged spreadwing but without amber wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 34 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Indiana, Maine.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell a male elegant spreadwing from a female?
Males have a metallic green and yellow thorax with a blue-tipped green abdomen, while females are bulkier and duller in color.
Source: Wikipedia
Where might I find an elegant spreadwing?
They live near freshwater like streams, lakes, ponds and marshes, often under forest canopy.
Source: Wikipedia
What other damselflies look like the elegant spreadwing?
It resembles the swamp spreadwing (larger) and the amber-winged spreadwing (without amber wings).
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lestidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegant_spreadwing
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.