Archilestes grandis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The great spreadwing (Archilestes grandis) is a damselfly in the family Lestidae. When great spreadwings are startled they often return to the same perch or a perch nearby. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 6 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Spreadwing sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 122nd most-seen of the 329 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Great Spreadwing in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August, October and December–April, the lowest months. That is one of Big Bend National Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 10 mm in April.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Spreadwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Great Spreadwing sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Saguaro National Park (United States, about 10%), Zion National Park (United States, about 10%) and Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 10%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Great Spreadwing that you can see in Big Bend National Park (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Powdered Dancer (about 20%), Blue-Ringed Dancer (about 20%) and Black Setwing (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Spreadwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Bend National Park (14 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.
