Lyre-tipped Spreadwing

Appearance

Adult- This is a large damselfly (30 to 41 mm) long. The build is slender with short wings in proportion to the length of the abdomen. Both the males and females are mostly bronzy-green on the upper surface of the thorax and abdomen. The lower pair of anal appendages is "S"shaped with the tips pointing outwards when viewed from above.

Distribution

found across North America from southern British Columbia east to Nova Scotia and south to New Jersey, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and California.

Status

abundant, and secure.

Habitat

found at ponds that are exposed to the sun, and it seems to prefer ponds that dry up in the summer. The naiads do well in alkaline water.

Reproduction

After males and females mate, the female Lyre-tipped Spreadwing lays eggs well above the waterline on vegetation that grows out of water. Where populations are extremely dense they can actually damage the plants on which they lay their eggs.

Food

Naiad- Naiads eat a wide variety of aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae, mayfly larvae, and other aquatic fly larvae.
Adult- The damselfly eats a wide variety of small soft-bodied flying insects, such as mosquitoes, mayflies, flies and small moths.