Zygoptera (damselflies)

Code QO069999

A small, Australian endemic family of stream-dwelling damselflies. There are two species in a single genus: Lestoidea cunjuncta and L. barbarae , both from rainforest streams in north-east Queensland. The adults are medium sized, dark brown to black with orange or yellowish-green markings, and resemble the Megapodagrionidae.

The larvae have short, saccoid, sharply pointed gills without a node, like those of Diphlebia (Amphipterygidae), only much less than half the length of the abdomen. The labial mask is also Diphlebia -like: the prementum cleft and rounded. The palps are narrow with a long moveable hook and two robust teeth.

NB : A recent guide to the larvae of Australian Odonates (Hawking & Theischinger, 1999) has proposed a new classification system in which the family Lestoideidae has been changed to Hypolestidae.

Reference:

Hawking, J.H. and Theischinger, G. (1999) Dragonfly Larvae (Odonata): A Guide to the Identification of Larvae of Australian Families and to the Identification and Ecology of Larvae from New South Wales . CRCFE Identification Guide No. 24., Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, Thurgoona.