Blue Winged Olive Dry

Blue-winged Olive is a term used by anglers in fly fishing. We use it to identify an array of mayflies having olive, olive-brown bodies and bluish wings. Sometimes referred to as BWO. We tie a wide array of flies to imitate adult, nymph and emerging stages of the insect.

While the family Baetidae probably has the most species identified as blue-winged olives. Another mayfly family, Ephemerellidae also contains some.

Collectively, blue-winged olives are an important food source in most trout streams, thus their widespread imitation by fly tiers.