Bug FAQAmazon Sapphirewing
Zenithoptera fasciata · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
Also called: Rainforest Bluewing
The Amazon Sapphirewing has bright iridescent blue wings that are mostly uniform, sometimes showing a light band near the tip. Its thorax is dark brown with narrow, irregular yellowish bands on the sides. It lives in tropical and subtropical forest canopies and wetlands across northern South America and southern Central America.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wings are a vivid iridescent blue, almost uniform in color, with a possible lighter band just short of the apex. The side of the thorax is dark brown with narrow, irregular yellowish stripes.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Adults stay high in the forest canopy of tropical and subtropical rainforests and wetlands, coming down only briefly.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larval diet has not been described.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The larval stage has not been described.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are mostly in the canopy, descending briefly in midday sun for quick breeding encounters.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to the northern half of South America and the southern part of Central America.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
A similar species, Z. lanei, more commonly shows the light band near the wing tip.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the Amazon Sapphirewing look like?
It has bright iridescent blue wings that are mostly uniform, sometimes with a light band near the tip, and a dark brown thorax with narrow yellowish side bands.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the Amazon Sapphirewing found?
It lives in tropical and subtropical forest canopies and wetlands across northern South America and southern Central America, including countries such as Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica.
Source: Wikipedia
When are adults active?
Adults stay high in the canopy and come down briefly in the midday sun for short breeding encounters.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenithoptera_fasciata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.