Common flatwing
The common flatwing is a long, slim damselfly that shines bright metallic blue. Most damselflies fold their wings up when they rest, but this one usually keeps its wings spread out flat. That is how it got its name.
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Fun facts
It uses its legs like a basket to grab insects in the air, not for walking.
It likes to rest in the shade a few metres from a creek, sometimes in big groups.
It does not mind people coming close to it.
Flatwings from the cool south have a pale mouth, and those from the warm north have a dark mouth.
Most asked questions about Common flatwing
?Is the common flatwing dangerous?
No. Damselflies do not sting and are harmless.
?Where can I see a common flatwing?
Along shady streams and creeks in eastern Australia.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Austroargiolestes icteromelas
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Argiolestidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Argiolestidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Australian flatwing
Where the facts come from
- Common flatwing (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 Richard Higgins from Wollongong, Australia. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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