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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Damselflies (Zygoptera) » Spreadwings (Lestidae) » Archilestes » Great Spreadwing (Archilestes grandis)
Photo#435750
Dragon - Archilestes grandis - male
Copyright © 2010 Andrew Meeds

Dragon - Archilestes grandis - Male
Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, USA
August 1, 2010
Size: about 55 mm length
I'm not so great with dragonflies and damselflies, but I'd love to know what this is. Thanks!
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Contributed by Andrew Meeds on 1 August, 2010 - 4:40pm
Last updated 23 August, 2010 - 4:52pm

Male
Male appendages:
… Alice Cavette, 23 August, 2010 - 4:44pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Thanks guys! It was indeed quite a large damselfly. Larger than quite a few dragonflies I've seen.
… Andrew Meeds, 1 August, 2010 - 5:52pm login or register to post comments

Adding the size would be most helpful
From the way this is holding its wings almost perpendicular to the body, we're guessing this was very big, more than 2 inches! So we're going to suggest Archilestes grandis.
… john and jane balaban, 1 August, 2010 - 5:19pm login or register to post comments

 
Much better
Lestes is the only spreadwing genus in New England so my guide doesn't have that, and when I looked at the Iowa list of Lestes of course Archilestes wasn't on it.
… John F. Carr, 1 August, 2010 - 5:22pm login or register to post comments

Spreadwing
In my Massachusetts handbook(1) the closest genitalia are Lestes eurinus, which is found out your way but the match isn't exact and it could be some non-Northeastern species.
… John F. Carr, 1 August, 2010 - 4:49pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks
Would it be worth it to try and catch it or get a better shot of the genitalia? There were a couple of these that I saw at the location I was at.
… Andrew Meeds, 1 August, 2010 - 4:52pm login or register to post comments

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