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Helicopter damselfly, La Isla Escondida, Colombia I couldn&#039;t believe my eyes when our guide Manuel pointed out this damselfly whilst it was in flight. All I know about damselflies is that they are thin and short, usually around 5cm in length. I was completely shocked to see one at least 3 times lengthier. And the flight is amazing, its nickname &quot;Helicopter&quot; is not overstated, it truly hovers in the air. They are so large that we could see it glitter through the air about 20m away. <br /> <br /> The rest had already proceeded on the path as this beauty just wouldn&#039;t perch. I kept chasing it and went off path quite a bit when it finally settled down for a good 20 seconds. Unfortunately, exactly at this time my flash battery died, and I screwed up both shots. After that I never found it again. I&#039;m still happy that I at least have some record of it, as I consider it one of the most memorable insect we&#039;ve ever seen.<br /> <br /> There&#039;s 3 species in this genus of oversized &quot;helicopter&quot; damselflies. They&#039;re described as picking both spiders and prey caught in cogwebs whilst in flight, so very opportunistic thieves. Here&#039;s a low quality video of one of the other species in flight:<br /> <section class="video"><iframe width="448" height="282" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/KLwSKCTl9HM?hd=1&autoplay=0&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></section><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/72855/helicopter_damselfly_-_side_view_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html" title="Helicopter damselfly - side view, La Isla Escondida, Colombia"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/72855_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=1cf8sob6IOSeQJ%2FEvPgX1Cb%2F1j8%3D" width="126" height="152" alt="Helicopter damselfly - side view, La Isla Escondida, Colombia I couldn&#039;t believe my eyes when our guide Manuel pointed out this damselfly whilst it was in flight. All I know about damselflies is that they are thin and short, usually around 5cm in length. I was completely shocked to see one at least 3 times lengthier. And the flight is amazing, its nickname &quot;Helicopter&quot; is not overstated, it truly hovers in the air. They are so large that we could see it glitter through the air about 20m away. <br /> <br /> The rest had already proceeded on the path as this beauty just wouldn&#039;t perch. I kept chasing it and went off path quite a bit when it finally settled down for a good 20 seconds. Unfortunately, exactly at this time my flash battery died, and I screwed up both shots. After that I never found it again. I&#039;m still happy that I at least have some record of it, as I consider it one of the most memorable insect we&#039;ve ever seen.<br /> <br /> There&#039;s 3 species in this genus of oversized &quot;helicopter&quot; damselflies. They&#039;re described as picking both spiders and prey caught in cogwebs whilst in flight, so very opportunistic thieves. Here&#039;s a low quality video of one of the other species in flight:<br /> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLwSKCTl9HM<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/72854/helicopter_damselfly_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Helicopter damselfly,La Isla Escondida,Microstigma rotundatum,Putumayo,South America,World" /></a></figure> Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Helicopter damselfly,La Isla Escondida,Microstigma rotundatum,Putumayo,South America,World Click/tap to enlarge Species introCountry intro

Helicopter damselfly, La Isla Escondida, Colombia

I couldn't believe my eyes when our guide Manuel pointed out this damselfly whilst it was in flight. All I know about damselflies is that they are thin and short, usually around 5cm in length. I was completely shocked to see one at least 3 times lengthier. And the flight is amazing, its nickname "Helicopter" is not overstated, it truly hovers in the air. They are so large that we could see it glitter through the air about 20m away.

The rest had already proceeded on the path as this beauty just wouldn't perch. I kept chasing it and went off path quite a bit when it finally settled down for a good 20 seconds. Unfortunately, exactly at this time my flash battery died, and I screwed up both shots. After that I never found it again. I'm still happy that I at least have some record of it, as I consider it one of the most memorable insect we've ever seen.

There's 3 species in this genus of oversized "helicopter" damselflies. They're described as picking both spiders and prey caught in cogwebs whilst in flight, so very opportunistic thieves. Here's a low quality video of one of the other species in flight:


Helicopter damselfly - side view, La Isla Escondida, Colombia I couldn't believe my eyes when our guide Manuel pointed out this damselfly whilst it was in flight. All I know about damselflies is that they are thin and short, usually around 5cm in length. I was completely shocked to see one at least 3 times lengthier. And the flight is amazing, its nickname "Helicopter" is not overstated, it truly hovers in the air. They are so large that we could see it glitter through the air about 20m away. <br /> <br /> The rest had already proceeded on the path as this beauty just wouldn't perch. I kept chasing it and went off path quite a bit when it finally settled down for a good 20 seconds. Unfortunately, exactly at this time my flash battery died, and I screwed up both shots. After that I never found it again. I'm still happy that I at least have some record of it, as I consider it one of the most memorable insect we've ever seen.<br /> <br /> There's 3 species in this genus of oversized "helicopter" damselflies. They're described as picking both spiders and prey caught in cogwebs whilst in flight, so very opportunistic thieves. Here's a low quality video of one of the other species in flight:<br /> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLwSKCTl9HM<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/72854/helicopter_damselfly_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Helicopter damselfly,La Isla Escondida,Microstigma rotundatum,Putumayo,South America,World

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The Helicopter damselfly

''Microstigma rotundatum'', the helicopter damselfly, is a species of damselflies belonging to the family Pseudostigmatidae.

Info 2 0
Similar species: Dragonflies And Damselflies
Species identified by Ferdy Christant
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By Ferdy Christant

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Uploaded Jan 20, 2019. Captured Oct 21, 2018 12:02.
country flag of Colombia Explore Colombia 8,334 2,805 0
  • NIKON D850
  • f/4.5
  • 1/60s
  • ISO64
  • 105mm