California spreadwing
Archilestes californicus
The California spreadwing is a damselfly, a slim cousin of the dragonfly. Most damselflies fold their wings together when they rest. Spreadwings like this one often keep them open, like a little plane parked on a twig.
Lives in
North America and Central America, near water
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Damselflies have no sting, so you can just watch it.
What does it eat?
Like all damselflies, it catches small flying insects. Its babies live under water and hunt tiny water animals.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
California spreadwing about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It belongs to the spreadwings, a family of damselflies that often rest with their wings held open.
2
It lives in North America and also in Central America.
3
Scientists say there are plenty of them, and their number is even going up.
you asked
Most asked questions about California spreadwing
?Is the California spreadwing a dragonfly?
Not quite. It is a damselfly, a thinner cousin of the dragonfly.
?Is the California spreadwing dangerous?
No. Damselflies have no sting and are harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Archilestes californicus
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Lestidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Lestidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Archilestes californicus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Ken-ichi Ueda. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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