Blue-winged Helicopter Damselfly

Megaloprepus caerulatus (Drury, 1782) is a damselfly in Odonata. Molecular classification places the helicopter damselfly lineage within Coenagrionidae. [2][1]

Adult males have a dark thorax with yellow stripes and a yellow underside; the long, dark abdomen has a metallic brown-to-blue sheen. The largely transparent wings carry a blue band near the tip. Mature males also have a milky-white band just inside the blue and a narrow white tip margin. Females lack the inner white band and have conspicuous white wing tips. [2]

The species occurs on the Caribbean side of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, in Panama and northern Colombia, and west of the Andes from Colombia to Peru. It inhabits tropical forest. [2]

At Barro Colorado Island, females insert eggs into moist bark above the waterline of tree holes. The aquatic larvae hatch at different times, even within a single clutch. [3]

In the island’s tree-hole nurseries, mosquito larvae are common prey, although larger aquatic prey are preferred. Larger damselfly larvae also consume smaller members of their own species. [3]

At Barro Colorado Island, males defend large water-filled holes that provide mating and egg-laying sites. Females visit these nurseries to mate and deposit eggs. [3]

In an experiment, a two-hour decrease in temperature caused more fully developed eggs to hatch than did the ambient-temperature control. In an outdoor insectary at Barro Colorado Island, hatching coincided with cooler conditions associated with rain. [3]

Drury described the species as Libellula caerulata in 1782. The 2022 revision recognized four species of Megaloprepus, separating caerulatus from latipennis, brevistigma and diaboli. [2]

Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.