Coastal Flatwing Damselfly - Griseargiolestes albescens

FAMILY MEGAPODAGRIONIDAE

This page contains information and pictures about Coastal Flatwing Damselflies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Female, body length 37mm

We found many Coastal Flatwings Damselflies in Yugarapul Park, Brisbane when we searching for the Petaltails. The Coastal Flatwings are the medium size, as the Flatwing they are small in size. Males are blue to pale blue in colour. On the tail tip there is the pruinescence on 9th and 10th segments.

They are not common. We did not see them in other area.



Like the other Flatwings, they do not mind if we come very close. We can always have the close look at them. They are easy to find inside the swamp area of the Yugarapul Park. They usually rest on the low plants.



Female Coastal Flatwings are about the same size as the male, or slightly smaller. As the Common Flatwings, females sometimes rest with their wings closed.


Female, body length 34mm

Females do not have fur on their thorax and do not have the white tail light. The patterns on their thorax is clean with metallic blue strips on white. Also found them in Carbrook Wetland.



The female Coastal Flatwings look quite different from the males. Males have furry thorax in white-blue colour. The patterns on the thorax can hardly be seen for it is covered by the white fur. Their abdomen is dark blue with powder blue light tail.



The male and female look so different that although we can always find them in the same area, we did not know they are the same species, until we saw them mating in tandem and wheel position.



Wings of Coastal Flatwings Damselfly
Reference:
1. The Australian Dragonflies - CSIRO, Watson, Theisinger & Abbey,1991, p157.
2. A Field Guide to Dragonflies of South East Queensland - Ric Nattrass, 2006, p26.
3. The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia - CSIRO, Günther Theischinger and John Hawking, 2006, p48.

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