Common Tent-making Bat

Orion Cecropian Historis odious Photo by Tino Sánchez This captivating, large butterfly has a wingspan of 11 cm (4 in.) and calls attention with its bright orange upperparts when flying. However, at rest, they fold their wings up, revealing their leaf-like brown underside, even showing a vertical line reminiscent of the vein of a leaf, providing excellent camouflage. They are very closely associated with cecropia trees—from laying their eggs on its leaves to perching high on its branches, all life stages of this species associates with cecropia trees. From the treetops, it flies down to the ground to feed on fermenting forest fruits, earning this species its nickname, the “Stinky Leafwing.” Males are attracted to rocky overhangs, riverbanks and muddy wallows to pick up dissolved minerals in the water. Keep an eye out for this common butterfly at eye level from the Observation Deck of the Canopy Tower, and at the fruit feeders at the Canopy Lodge and Canopy Camp. Strange defenses: The larval caterpillars produce frass-chains, which they dangle off the edges of cecropia leaves where they are resting to avoid being eaten by the resident Azteca ants.

Blue-winged Helicopter Damselfly Megaloprepus caerulatus Photo by Domiciano Alveo With a wingspan of up to 19 cm (nearly 8 in.), the Blue-winged Helicopter is the largest member of the dragonfly and damselfly order, Odonata. It is large, with a body length up to 13 cm (5 in.), and slender. In addition to its large size, the Blue-winged Helicopter damselfly has a dark brown to black body with yellowish markings, and transparent wings with a dark blue band on the outer third near the wing tip. Males are distinguished by having a thick white band on the wings inside the blue band. Females lack this white band, but have a creamy white spot at each wing tip. Males are larger than females, which is unusual among dragonflies and damselflies. The Blue-winged Helicopter damsel is the only member of the genus Megaloprepus. The Blue-winged Helicopter damselfly is a member of the family Pseudostigmatidae, the helicopter damsels and forest giant damsels. They are called helicopter damselflies because their four wings beat independently, and appear to whirl around like the blades of a helicopter, an illusion accentuated by the flashing blue and white tips. Helicopter damselflies are only found in tropical regions, and require environments with plenty of rainfall – rainforests are their ideal home. This species is the most spectacular of Panama’s 6 species of helicopter damselflies. Blue-winged Helicopter damselflies are found in the understory of tropical rainforests. They do not emerge to cross large clearings, and have poor flight endurance, resting often by perching on a leaf or twig with their abdomen hanging downward. They are most common in mature, old-growth forests and are not commonly found in secondary growth. Adult Blue-winged Helicopter damsels specialize in plucking spiders from their webs while in flight using their long legs. They prefer small, soft-bellied