Plateau Spreadwing

Lestes alacer · Order: Odonata · Family: Lestidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Plateau Spreadwing
Photo: unknown, CC0

The plateau spreadwing lives in Central America and North America. Its native range includes the same regions.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Found in Central America and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Native to Central America and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 11 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wisconsin.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Plateau Spreadwing photo 3
Photo: Dennis Vollmar, CC BY
Plateau Spreadwing photo 4
Photo: Tanner Shepard, CC BY
Plateau Spreadwing photo 5
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY
Plateau Spreadwing photo 6
Photo: saltyhiker, CC BY

Same family (Lestidae)

Western Willow SpreadwingWestern Willow SpreadwingChalcolestes viridisSlender SpreadwingSlender SpreadwingLestes rectangularisCommon Winter DamselflyCommon Winter DamselflySympecma fuscaCommon SpreadwingCommon SpreadwingLestes sponsaGreat SpreadwingGreat SpreadwingArchilestes grandisSpotted SpreadwingSpotted SpreadwingLestes congener

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lestes_alacer

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.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.