Dragonflies of Colombia

Dragonflies of Colombia - Visited areas

Ten days in Colombia in March 2017 allowed me to encounter only 32 species of dragonflies, a disappointing number considering the wealth of this country, certainly more than 300 species. It was not a trip dedicated to the dragonflies of Colombia, but to nature in general.

Three areas were visited: the Amazon upstream from Leticia, overflowing its banks, having flooded the ponds on which I had placed great hopes… Then the Peirera region and in particular the « Santuario de Fauna y Flora de Otum Quimbaya », with unfortunately very overcast weather. And finally the Tayrona Park, near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast.
The rainy season was well underway, which outside of tropical areas is an obstacle to observing dragonflies.

Calopterygidae   Libellulidae  
Hetaerina sanguinea Brachymesia herbida
    Erythemis attala
Protoneuridae   Erythemis haematogastra
Neoneura confundens Erythemis peruviana
Neoneura rubriventris Erythemis vesiculosa
Neoneura rufithorax Erythrodiplax attenuata
Protoneura scintilla Erythrodiplax umbrata
    Erythrodiplax fusca
    Erythrodiplax kimminsi
Coenagrionidae   Erythrodiplax unimaculata
Acanthagrion apicale Libellula herculea
Argia medullaris Macrothemis sp.
Argia oculata Micrathyria aequalis
Argia variegata Micrathyria didyma
Ischnura sp. Nephepeltia flavifrons
Mesamphiagrion rosseri Oligoclada walkeri
    Orthemis discolor
Aeshnidae   Orthemis schmidti
Rhionaeschna marchali Pantala flavescens
    Perithemis mooma
    Perithemis rubita
    Tramea calverti

The Odonata of Colombia have, of course, been the subject of a great deal of work, including this updated list (1), which mentions 335 species. I think that this figure is well below the reality; it dates back to 2011 and Colombia has huge territories still not explored for odonatology.
I regularly follow the work of some local odonatologists, and several times a year, new species are added, often new species for science.

-1 UPDATED CHECKLIST OF THE ODONATA KNOWN FROM COLOMBIA, L.A. PÉREZ-GUTIÉRREZ and F. PALACINO-RODRÍGUEZ, Odonatologica 40(3 ): 203-225, September 1, 2011

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