If you spend enough time in Panama, eventually you start noticing something extraordinary around rivers, ponds, waterfalls, jungle trails and even small puddles after heavy rain: dragonflies are everywhere, and they can be spectacular.
Some are brilliant blue. Others are metallic green, red, copper, orange or almost black. Some are tiny and delicate, while others are surprisingly large. They hover over rivers like miniature helicopters, perch on leaves waiting for insects, suddenly disappear into the forest and then reappear a few metres away as if they were playing a game with you.
Panama is an exceptionally interesting country for dragonflies because of its enormous variety of freshwater habitats and its position between North and South America. Scientific reviews have documented more than 200 species of Odonata in Panama, and one national checklist records 214 described species, with additional species expected because some species known from neighbouring Colombia and Costa Rica have not yet been recorded in Panama. At least some undescribed species are also believed to occur in the country.
And that means that when you see a beautiful dragonfly in Panama, there is a pretty good chance that you are looking at something much more interesting than just a colourful insect.
Dragonflies and damselflies
Technically, when we talk about "dragonflies" in Panama, we are often talking about the entire order Odonata, which includes both dragonflies and damselflies.
True dragonflies are generally the more robust insects. They tend to have larger bodies, powerful wings and an impressive ability to hover and accelerate. Their eyes are enormous and dominate their heads, giving them an almost alien appearance.
Damselflies are generally more delicate. Many rest with their wings folded or partly closed, whereas most dragonflies rest with their wings spread.
Panama has an extraordinary diversity of both.
A 2015 scientific review identified 215 species of Odonata belonging to 13 families, with 35 species having a type locality in Panama. The researchers also found records from only 28 of Panama's 52 river basins, showing that huge parts of the country have historically received relatively little attention from Odonata researchers.
So the number we know about isn't necessarily the number that actually exists.
Why does Panama have so many?
The answer is water.
Dragonflies spend an important part of their lives in or around freshwater.
The adults that you see flying through the jungle are only the final stage of their life cycle. Before becoming those spectacular winged predators, they spend a much longer period as aquatic nymphs.
Depending on the species and environmental conditions, these young dragonflies can live underwater in streams, ponds, marshes, lakes, pools and other freshwater environments.
The nymph is essentially a miniature aquatic predator.
It hunts other small aquatic organisms, including mosquito larvae and other insects. It eventually climbs out of the water, sheds its old skin and emerges as the winged insect we recognize.
That means a healthy dragonfly population is closely connected to the health of freshwater habitats.
Panama is basically a dragonfly paradise
Think about the geography of Panama.
There are thousands of rivers and streams, countless waterfalls, wetlands, ponds, forest pools, lakes, marshes and seasonal pools.
Then add enormous amounts of tropical rainfall.
Then add mountains.
Then cloud forests.
Then lowland rainforest.
Then Caribbean and Pacific coastal ecosystems.
Then the Darién.
Then the Canal watershed.
It creates an incredible collection of different environments for Odonata.
The Canal area itself is particularly famous among researchers. A major study of the Odonata of Central Panama documented 176 named species plus at least one undescribed species in the relatively small area surrounding the Panama Canal.
That's an astonishing concentration.
The dragonflies of the rainforest
One of the most fascinating things about Panama's dragonflies is that you don't necessarily have to find a large lake to see them.
Some species are associated with streams and rivers.
Others are associated with ponds and marshes.
And some of the most unusual species have adapted to living deep inside forests where standing water can be surprisingly scarce.
The giant damselflies of the family Pseudostigmatidae are an amazing example.
These enormous damselflies live in New World tropical forests, including Panama. Rather than depending exclusively on conventional ponds or lakes, some species lay their eggs in small bodies of water that accumulate inside things such as tree holes and bromeliads.
Imagine walking through a Panamanian rainforest and realizing that a tiny pool of rainwater trapped inside a plant can be a dragonfly nursery.
That's tropical biology at its best.
Some are unbelievably beautiful
Dragonflies have evolved some spectacular colours.
Panama has rubyspots with brilliant red markings, blue species, metallic species and insects with extraordinary combinations of black, green, orange, yellow and bronze.
The national checklist includes groups with names such as Blue Cora, Golden-backed Cora, Sparkling Cora, River Rubyspot, Bronze Rubyspot, Highland Rubyspot, Forest Rubyspot and Redstripe Rubyspot.
These aren't just poetic names invented for tourists.
They reflect just how visually spectacular some of these insects can be.
The metallic colours can be particularly impressive when sunlight hits them.
A dragonfly sitting beside a jungle stream can suddenly appear to change colour when it moves from shadow into sunlight.
The incredible wings
A dragonfly's wings may look incredibly delicate, but they are remarkably sophisticated structures.
Each wing contains a complicated network of veins, and the four wings can be controlled in ways that allow dragonflies to perform extraordinary aerial manoeuvres.
They can hover.
They can accelerate rapidly.
They can change direction almost instantly.
They can fly backwards for short periods.
They can stop in midair.
And some species can patrol a particular section of river or forest repeatedly, apparently treating it almost like a territory.
Watching one hunting over a tropical stream can feel like watching a tiny fighter jet.
Dragonflies are predators
The beautiful appearance can be deceptive.
Dragonflies are predators.
Adult dragonflies hunt other insects in flight, including mosquitoes, flies and other small flying insects.
They have extremely sophisticated vision and their huge compound eyes allow them to detect movement from multiple directions.
Their hunting strategy is fascinating because they don't simply chase an insect randomly.
They can intercept flying prey.
Essentially, the dragonfly predicts where its target is going and flies toward that point.
That makes the insect look almost impossibly agile.
And when you watch one suddenly accelerate after a mosquito, you are watching one of nature's most efficient aerial predators.
The underwater predator
The young dragonfly is arguably even stranger.
The nymph lives underwater and looks almost nothing like the beautiful adult.
It crawls through mud, vegetation and rocks searching for prey.
Dragonfly nymphs have a remarkable extendable lower jaw called a labium. They can rapidly shoot this structure forward to grab prey.
So the peaceful-looking dragonfly resting on a flower started its life as a somewhat terrifying underwater ambush predator.
In Panama's rivers and ponds, these nymphs become part of complicated aquatic food webs.
Dragonflies and mosquitoes
There is a common idea that dragonflies are somehow a natural solution to mosquito problems.
There is some truth behind the idea because dragonflies and their nymphs do eat mosquitoes and other small insects.
But it would be an exaggeration to think that simply having dragonflies will eliminate mosquitoes.
Mosquito populations depend on many factors, and adult dragonflies eat a wide variety of insects rather than specializing exclusively in mosquitoes.
Still, dragonflies are important predators within tropical ecosystems, and their presence is one indication that an area supports a functioning insect community.
They can tell us something about water
One of the most interesting scientific uses of dragonflies is their potential as bioindicators.
Because their immature stages depend on freshwater environments, changes in dragonfly communities can provide information about environmental conditions.
The Panamanian scientific literature specifically highlights Odonata as useful indicators of water quality and aquatic ecosystem condition.
That makes sense when you think about their life cycle.
A dragonfly isn't simply visiting a river.
Its parents reproduce around aquatic habitat, its young develop in that aquatic environment and the adult eventually returns to the surrounding ecosystem.
If the water becomes polluted, the vegetation disappears or a stream is drastically altered, the effects can extend through the dragonfly's entire life cycle.
The Canal Zone is a dragonfly hotspot
The area around the Panama Canal has been particularly important for dragonfly research.
The region contains an extraordinary mixture of rainforest, streams, ponds, wetlands and modified habitats.
Scientists have been studying the Odonata there for generations.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has also played a major role in Panama's broader biodiversity research. Based in Panama, STRI operates research facilities and supports scientists studying tropical ecosystems throughout the region.
The result is that Panama has become an unusually important place for scientists interested in tropical insects.
Barro Colorado Island
One particularly famous location is Barro Colorado Island, in the Panama Canal watershed.
The island has been one of the world's most intensively studied tropical forest sites.
Dragonflies and damselflies have been part of that research.
Scientists have investigated everything from the behaviour of giant damselflies to the distribution of different dragonfly species.
The island is particularly valuable because researchers can study insects in a protected tropical forest environment while having access to decades of ecological research.
Some Panama dragonflies are still being discovered
This is perhaps the most exciting part.
Despite more than a century of scientific collecting and observation, Panama's dragonfly fauna isn't completely understood.
The national inventory has continued to change as researchers discover species that weren't previously recorded in the country.
For example, Zenithoptera fasciata was reported as a new record for Panama after a specimen was collected in Darién's Pirre region.
There are also species that have been described from Panama itself.
Scientific collections at the University of Panama's G. B. Fairchild Invertebrate Museum contain an enormous amount of Odonata material. A 2024 study of material associated with entomologist Jean Belle documented 185 species across 70 genera and 12 families in that particular collection, including type material for several species.
That is a reminder that Panama's insects aren't just pretty things flying around the jungle.
They are scientifically important.
The mysterious Darién
If Panama's known dragonfly diversity is already impressive, imagine what could be hiding in the Darién.
The Darién is one of the wildest and least accessible regions of Central America, with enormous areas of rainforest and countless streams.
A species that lives in an isolated mountain stream or remote forest pool could potentially remain poorly known for decades.
And this is one reason researchers are cautious about saying that Panama has a definitive number of dragonfly species.
The more people look, the more they find.
Dragonflies around waterfalls
If you're travelling through Panama, waterfalls and jungle streams are among the best places to pay attention to dragonflies.
Look around sunny openings near moving water.
Watch rocks sticking out of streams.
Check vegetation along the edges.
Look at branches overhanging pools.
And don't just look directly over the water.
Some species fly a few metres away and return repeatedly to the same perch.
If you stand still for several minutes, you may suddenly realize that the apparently empty forest around you is full of tiny flying predators.
The rainy season can be spectacular
Rain changes everything in Panama.
Temporary pools appear.
Streams swell.
Vegetation explodes.
Insects become more abundant.
And different species of dragonflies can become active.
Research on Panama's clubtail dragonflies, for example, found that many species become locally common during the early rainy season, particularly from May through August, while becoming much harder to find at other times.
So the rainy season isn't necessarily a bad time for insect watching.
Quite the opposite.
For someone interested in biodiversity, a wet tropical landscape can be incredibly alive.
Look closely at the tiny ones
One mistake people make is assuming that every dragonfly in Panama is going to be a giant, brightly coloured insect.
Some are tiny.
Some are dark.
Some are surprisingly well camouflaged.
Some sit quietly on vegetation and are easy to miss.
Others flash brilliant colours for a few seconds before disappearing.
That's why dragonfly watching is almost like miniature wildlife watching.
You start by looking for "dragonflies."
Eventually you start noticing different body shapes, wing patterns, colours, behaviours and habitats.
Then you start wondering what species you just saw.
And suddenly you've fallen into the rabbit hole of Odonata.
Dragonflies at a jungle hostel
For somewhere like a jungle hostel in Panama, dragonflies are particularly interesting because they fit perfectly into the experience of slowing down and actually looking at the natural world.
You don't need expensive equipment.
You don't need to hike for five hours.
You can sit beside a stream.
Walk a trail.
Stand beside a waterfall.
Watch a pond.
Or simply pay attention after rain.
And suddenly something metallic blue, golden, red or green can fly past your head.
It's one of those experiences that makes tropical travel different from simply visiting another city.
Panama's flying jewels
There is something almost magical about dragonflies.
They are ancient insects, extraordinary predators and important parts of freshwater ecosystems, yet they are also visually stunning.
In Panama, their diversity becomes particularly spectacular because of the country's combination of tropical forests, mountains, rivers, wetlands and enormous biological variety.
Scientists have already documented more than 200 species, while substantial areas remain underexplored.
So the next time you're standing beside a Panamanian river and a shimmering blue, gold or ruby coloured insect suddenly shoots past you, stop for a second.
Don't just call it a dragonfly.
Look at it.
It may be one of hundreds of species sharing Panama's rivers, forests and wetlands with you.
And somewhere in that incredible tropical diversity, there may still be a dragonfly that nobody has properly documented yet.