Megaloprepus caerulatus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Megaloprepus caerulatus, also known as the blue-winged helicopter, is a forest giant damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. Forest giant damselflies were previously recognized as their own family, Pseudostigmatidae. M. caerulatus is found in wet and moist forests in Central and South America. It has the greatest wingspan of any living damselfly or dragonfly, up to 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in the largest males. Its large size and the markings on its wings make it a conspicuous species; a hovering Megaloprepus has been described as a "pulsating blue-and-white beacon".
As an adult it feeds on orb-weaver spiders in the forest understory, which it plucks from their webs. It lays its eggs in water-filled holes in trees; males defend the larger holes as breeding territories. The naiad is a top predator in its tree-hole habitat, feeding on tadpoles and aquatic insects, including the larvae of mosquito species that are vectors of human disease.
Megaloprepus lays its eggs in the water that collects in tree hollows. These plant-borne bodies of water, known as phytotelmata, may form in a living tree when a branch breaks off or a burl rots and fills with water, in buttresses... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Winged Helicopter sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 198th most-seen of the 302 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, June–July, September and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Winged Helicopter in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–May, August and October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-Winged Helicopter sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Blue-Winged Helicopter sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Soberanía National Park (Panama, about 30%) and Darién National Park (Panama, about 20%).
Same family: Coenagrionidae
The closest relatives of the Blue-Winged Helicopter that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Coenagrionidae, Narrow-winged Damselflies) are Green-Eyed Dancer (about 10%), Bromeliad Helicopter (about 10%) and Oculate Dancer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-Winged Helicopter is recorded against all the insects logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
