Ischnura chingaza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ischnura chingaza |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Ischnura
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| Species: |
chingaza
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The Ischnura chingaza is a type of damselfly. It belongs to the Ischnura group and the Coenagrionidae family. This damselfly lives only in the Eastern Mountains of the Colombian Andes. A scientist named Emilio Realpe first described it in 2010.
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What's in a Name?
The Ischnura chingaza damselfly gets its name from the Chingaza National Natural Park. This is a special place where this damselfly has been found living.
What Does Ischnura chingaza Look Like?
The Ischnura chingaza damselfly is usually yellow-green to green. It is about 25.5 to 26 millimetres (1.00 to 1.02 in) long. The back of its head is a light yellow color. Its mouthparts, called labia, are white.
Male Ischnura chingaza damselflies have black eyes with light yellow parts. Female damselflies have black eyes with light blue parts.
The Life Cycle of Ischnura chingaza
Scientists studied how the young Ischnura chingaza damselflies, called larvae, behave. This study happened in a pond in Cogua, Cundinamarca. The pond is very high up, at about 2,842 metres (9,324 ft) above sea level. The water there is usually around 14 °C (57 °F).
The eggs of the Ischnura chingaza are oval-shaped. They are about 0.89 millimetres (0.035 in) long and 0.18 millimetres (0.0071 in) wide. It takes about two weeks to one month for the eggs to hatch. The larvae stage lasts a long time, about 258 days on average. This is longer than for many other types of Ischnura damselflies.
Where Does Ischnura chingaza Live?
This damselfly lives in and near grasslands and special high-altitude areas called páramo biomes. These places are found in the Chingaza National Natural Park in Cundinamarca. They live at heights between 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) and 3,200 metres (10,500 ft).
They lay their eggs and grow up in freshwater ponds. These damselflies can even live in areas where there are cattle. The Ischnura chingaza has also been seen in the wetlands of Parque Metropolitano La Florida and La Conejera.
Learn More
- List of flora and fauna named after the Muisca
- Chingaza National Natural Park
- Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve
- wetlands of Bogotá
