Mecistogaster ornata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Mecistogaster ornata, the lemon-tipped helicopter, or ornate helicopter, is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Central America and South America. The IUCN conservation status of Mecistogaster ornata is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The IUCN status was reviewed in 2009. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Lago de Yojoa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 6 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lemon-Tipped Helicopter sighting in Corcovado National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 116 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Lemon-Tipped Helicopter in Corcovado National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and May–October, the lowest months. That is one of Corcovado National Park's driest months, with about 220 mm of rain against 770 mm in October.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lemon-Tipped Helicopter sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Lemon-Tipped Helicopter sightings, Corcovado National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Carara National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Manuel Antonio National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Coenagrionidae
The closest relatives of the Lemon-Tipped Helicopter that you can see in Corcovado National Park (family Coenagrionidae, Narrow-winged Damselflies) are Megaloprepus diaboli (about 10%), Purple Dancer (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 Lemon-Tipped Helicopter is recorded against all the insects logged in Corcovado National Park (15 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.
