Yellow featherlegs
Copera marginipes
Male yellow featherlegs have dilated, bright yellow to orange-colored legs which they wave and flaunt in elaborate hovering displays to establish territory and attract mates.
- Scientific name
- Copera marginipes
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Odonata › Platycnemididae › Copera
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Shaded forest streams, slow-flowing rivers, marshes, and heavily vegetated freshwater ponds.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; adults feed on small flying insects like mosquitoes, midges, and gnats, while aquatic nymphs prey on micro-invertebrates.
- Range
- India, China, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Japan
- Size
- Wingspan of 40-50 mm; body length of 35-45 mm
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 year (with the majority spent as an aquatic nymph; adults live for only a few weeks)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Water pollution, deforestation leading to siltation of forest streams, and loss of wetland habitats.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Yellow featherlegs do not bite, sting, or pose any danger to humans. You can safely observe them from a close distance of 1-2 meters as they perch on riverside vegetation. If one lands on you, simply remain still and enjoy the encounter until it flies away.
Copera marginipes , yellow bush dart , is a species of damselfly in the family Platycnemididae. It is native to Asia, where it is widespread and common.
Photo: Len Worthington, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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