Slender Spreadwing
(Lestes rectangularis)
The Slender Spreadwing is longer than the Common and Sweetflag Spreadwings. It can easily be confused with the Swamp Spreadwing based upon size and the slender abdomen, but the 9th and 10th abdominal segments are not light, and often show a characteristic white tack-shaped marking on the 9th segment like on the photos shown here. The males especially have a pale vein at the tip of the wings that is usually very conspicous in photos. The top five photos are of males and notice that the pale vein is obvious even in the teneral individual in the third row. The pale vein is not conspicuous in the females except for the very teneral individual at the bottom right.The Slender Spreadwing likes more shade than the other Spreadwings, and was often seen out of the sun, and around the edges of ponds.