Spreadwing

While most damselflies rest with their wings folded together, most members of the family Lestidae hold them at an angle away from their bodies. The pterostigma (a single dark spot in the meshwork of the leading edge near the tip of each wing) is noticeably elongated. The quadrilateral (a part of the wing venation, close to the body) has an acute angle at the end. The body has a greenish, metallic shine. The superior anal appendages, commonly called claspers (body parts of male insect for clasping the female during copulation) of male spreadwings are long and strongly curved. Breeding takes place in slow-moving or still water in stream backwaters, swamps, marshes and temporary pools. The nymphs have a long abdomen and a distinctive prementum (part of the lower lip). There is one generation per year in North American species.

Before Lestidae was recognised as a family, its genera were placed in the damselfly subfamily Agrioninae. In 1862, Selys treated Lestes as the second “legion” of Agrioninae. Calvert later used the subfamily name Lestinae for several genera in that group; the family name Lestidae is based on it.

The two subfamilies in Lestidae are Lestinae and Sympecmatinae. Damselflies in the Lestinae rest with their wings partly open, while those in the Sympecmatinae, the reedlings, ringtails, and winter damselflies, rest with their wings folded. In the past, taxonomy of the family has been disputed, with some authorities including twelve genera while others included eight genera. Current authorities accept nine genera make up the family Lestidae. {| class="wikitable" ! SubFamily !! Image !! Genus !! Extant species |- ! rowspan="3" | Sympecmatinae | || Archilestes || *Archilestes exoletus *Archilestes grandis - Great Spreadwing *Archilestes guayaraca *Archilestes latialatus *Archilestes neblina *Archilestes regalis *Archilestes tuberalatus |- | || Indolestes || *Indolestes albicaudus *Indolestes alfurus *Indolestes alleni - Small Reedling *Indolestes anomalus *Indolestes aruanus *Indolestes assamicus *Indolestes bellax *Indolestes bilineatus *Indolestes birmanus *Indolestes boninensis *Indolestes cheesmanae *Indolestes coeruleus *Indolestes cyaneus *Indolestes dajakanus *Indolestes davenporti *Indolestes divisus *Indolestes extraneus *Indolestes floresianus *Indolestes goniocercus *Indolestes gracilis *Indolestes guizhouensis *Indolestes indicus *Indolestes inflatus *Indolestes insularis - Northern ringtail *Indolestes linsleyi *Indolestes lundquisti *Indolestes luxatus *Indolestes lygisticercus *Indolestes obiri - Cave Reedling *Indolestes peregrinus *Indolestes pulcherrimus *Indolestes risi *Indolestes sutteri *Indolestes tenuissimus - Slender Reedling *Indolestes vitiensis |- | || Sympecma || *Sympecma fusca – Common Winter Damselfly *Sympecma gobica *Sympecma paedisca – Siberian Winter Damsel |- ! rowspan="6" | Lestinae | || Austrolestes || *Austrolestes aleison - Western ringtail *Austrolestes analis - Slender ringtail *Austrolestes annulosus - Blue ringtail *Austrolestes aridus - Inland ringtail *Austrolestes cingulatus - Metallic ringtail *Austrolestes colensonis - Blue damselfly, kekewai *Austrolestes io - Iota ringtail *Austrolestes leda - Wandering ringtail *Austrolestes minjerriba - Dune ringtail *Austrolestes psyche - Cup ringtail |- | || Chalcolestes || *Chalcolestes parvidens – Eastern Willow Spreadwing *Chalcolestes viridis – Willow Emerald Damselfly, |- | || Lestes || * Lestes alacer – Plateau Spreadwing * Lestes alfonsoi * Lestes amicus * Lestes angularis * Lestes apollinaris * Lestes auripennis * Lestes auritus * Lestes australis – Southern Spreadwing * Lestes barbarus – Southern Emerald Damselfly, Migrant Spreadwing * Lestes basidens * Lestes bipupillatus * Lestes concinnus * Lestes congener – Spotted Spreadwing * Lestes curvatus * Lestes debellardi * Lestes dichrostigma * Lestes disjunctus – Northern Spreadwing * Lestes dissimulans * Lestes dorothea * Lestes dryas – Emerald Spreadwing, Scarce Emerald Damselfly, * Lestes elatus * Lestes eurinus – Amber-winged Spreadwing * Lestes falcifer * Lestes fernandoi * Lestes forcipatus – Sweetflag Spreadwing * Lestes forficula – Rainpool Spreadwing * Lestes garoensis * Lestes helix * Lestes henshawi * Lestes ictericus * Lestes inaequalis – Elegant Spreadwing * Lestes japonicus * Lestes jerrelli * Lestes jurzitzai * Lestes macrostigma – Dark Emerald Damselfly * Lestes malabaricus * Lestes malaisei * Lestes minutus * Lestes nigriceps * Lestes nodalis * Lestes numidicus * Lestes ochraceus * Lestes pallidus * Lestes patricia * Lestes paulistus * Lestes pictus * Lestes pinheyi * Lestes plagiatus * Lestes praecellens * Lestes praemorsus * Lestes praevius * Lestes pruinescens * Lestes quadristriatus * Lestes rectangularis – Slender Spreadwing * Lestes regulatus * Lestes scalaris * Lestes secula * Lestes sigma – Chalky Spreadwing * Lestes silvaticus * Lestes simplex * Lestes simulatrix * Lestes spatula * Lestes sponsa – Emerald Damselfly, * Lestes spumarius – Antillean Spreadwing * Lestes sternalis * Lestes stultus – Black Spreadwing * Lestes temporalis * Lestes tenuatus – Blue-striped Spreadwing * Lestes thoracicus * Lestes tikalus * Lestes trichonus * Lestes tricolor * Lestes tridens * Lestes umbrinus * Lestes uncifer * Lestes undulatus * Lestes unguiculatus – Lyre-tipped Spreadwing * Lestes urubamba * Lestes vidua – Carolina Spreadwing * Lestes vigilax – Swamp Spreadwing * Lestes virens – Small Emerald Damselfly, * Lestes virgatus * Lestes viridulus |- | || Orolestes || * Orolestes durga Lahiri, 1987 * Orolestes excelsus Fraser, 1933 * Orolestes motis Baijal & Agarwal, 1956 * Orolestes octomaculatus Martin, 1904 * Orolestes selysi McLachlan, 1895 * Orolestes wallacei (Kirby, 1889) |- | || Platylestes || * Platylestes heterostylus Lieftinck, 1932 *Platylestes kirani * Platylestes pertinax Lieftinck, 1932 * Platylestes platystyla Rambur, 1842 * Platylestes platystylus (Rambur, 1842) |- | || Sinhalestes || *Sinhalestes orientalis (Hagen, 1862) |- |}

The family name Lestidae is derived from the type genus Lestes, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families. The genus name Lestes is derived from the Greek λῃστής (lēstēs, "robber" or "pirate"), likely referring to the predatory behaviour of species in this genus.