#3666 · 🪽 dragonflies & damselflies

Western Willow Spreadwing

🇳🇱 Houtpantserjuffer ·Chalcolestes viridis

LCleast concern 🪽 Dragonflies & damselflies 📍 in the Netherlands

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Thomas Bresson · CC BY 4.0
2. © david e leo berton · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Paolo Zucca · CC BY 4.0
4. © elbebiber · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © John Guerin · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. 5062 Oisterwijk, Nederland:© Rick Denissen · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. 9341 Veenhuizen, Nederland:© Gerben ter Haar · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. 2641 JL Pijnacker, Nederland:© hansbek · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. BeA2, Eindhoven, Netherlands:© Mark Schellekens · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Anna Paulowna, Nederland:© 05gi02el03 · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Chalcolestes viridis , formerly Lestes viridis , is a damselfly of the family Lestidae. It has a metallic green body and at rest it holds its wings away from its body. Its common name is the willow emerald damselfly or the western willow spreadwing .

base stats

NL sightings 1,269iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 19,589iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 1,269 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #5 most seen of the dragonflies & damselflies in NL.
19,589 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Pierre Léonard Vander Linden in 1825 (201 years ago).