''Mecistogaster'' is a genus of large Neotropical

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies (which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Epiprocta) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the win ...

in the family

Coenagrionidae Coenagrionidae is a family of damselflies, also known as pond damselflies, in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 spec ...

, commonly known as helicopter damsels. There are eleven species distributed from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Members of this genus have very long abdomens which they use to deposit their eggs in the water-filled rosettes of bromeliads growing on trees in the forest. Species include: *'' Mecistogaster amalia'' – Amalia Helicopter *'' Mecistogaster amazonica'' *'' Mecistogaster asticta'' *'' Mecistogaster buckleyi'' – Blue-tipped Helicopter *'' Mecistogaster jocaste'' *'' Mecistogaster linearis'' *'' Mecistogaster lucretia'' *'' Mecistogaster martinezi'' *'' Mecistogaster modesta'' *'' Mecistogaster ornata'' – Ornate Helicopter *'' Mecistogaster pronoti'' – Atlantic Helicopter

References

Coenagrionidae Zygoptera genera Taxa named by Jules Pierre Rambur Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Coenagrionoidea-stub