Somatochlora arctica
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The northern emerald (Somatochlora arctica) is a species of emerald dragonfly found in northern and middle Eurasia. The species was first described in 1840 from Scandinavia. It is a relatively small dragonfly, just 4 to 5 centimetres (1.6 to 2.0 in) long, and is recognizable by its hairy thorax, dark abdomen, and bright green eyes. The males have narrowly waisted abdomens, while the females have straight ones; the females are also recognizable by the two lateral yellow spots behind the thorax. Northern emeralds pass two years as larvae in sphagnum-rich bog pools before emerging as adults which hunt above peat bogs, wet meadows, and open woodlands. Despite being assessed as a least-concern species by the IUCN, northern emeralds are threatened by habitat loss caused by human activity, and climate change is expected to exacerbate the problem. The northern emerald is found from Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula through much of Russia. It is abundant throughout Fennoscandia, and is also well-known from the Alps and the Scottish Highlands. Its distribution in lowland Europe is sparse, but the dragonflies can be hard to find and record.
The northern emerald is known scientifically... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Emerald sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 189th most-seen of the 300 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Emerald in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Emerald sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Cairngorms National Park, in our data
Cairngorms National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Northern Emerald sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Northern Emerald that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Large Red Damselfly (about 30%), Common Blue Damselfly (about 30%) and Black Meadowhawk (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Emerald is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (11 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.
