Uropetala carovei
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Uropetala carovei (New Zealand bush giant dragonfly) is a giant dragonfly of the family Petaluridae, endemic to New Zealand. Its Māori name, kapokapowai (or kapowai) means "water snatcher", alluding to the water dwelling juvenile stage (nymph), which, like all dragonflies, has a long extendable jaw that shoots out to snatch prey. It is also known as Carové's Giant Dragonfly.
Its yellow and black body can be up to 95 millimetres (3.7 in) long, with a wingspan up to 130 millimetres (5.1 in), making it the largest dragonfly in New Zealand. Females are slightly larger than males. The bodies of both the female and male are dark brown, with pale spots on the abdomen and thorax. Males have petal-shaped appendages at the tip of the abdomen. Uropetala carovei can be distinguished from the similar Uropetala chiltoni, which occurs in the mountains of the South Island, by its all-black labrum (lacking the large pale blotch on Uropetala chiltoni), and its brown to yellowish leg femur segments (which are black in Uropetala chiltoni).
Uropetala carovei was first described by Adam White in 1843 and originally named Petalura carovei. The Natural History Museum, London... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Carové's Giant Dragonfly sighting in Arthur's Pass National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 39th most-seen of the 60 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Carové's Giant Dragonfly in Arthur's Pass National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to December, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Carové's Giant Dragonfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Carové's Giant Dragonfly sightings, Arthur's Pass National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Egmont National Park (New Zealand, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Carové's Giant Dragonfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Arthur's Pass National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
