Trithemis annulata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Trithemis annulata, commonly known as the violet dropwing, violet-marked darter, purple-blushed darter, or plum-coloured dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in most of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. These dragonflies are called dropwings because of their habit of immediately lowering their wings after landing on a perch. Males of this species are violet-red with red veins in the wings, while females are yellow and brown. Both sexes have red eyes. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 8 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 15 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 17 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 18 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Dropwing sighting in Athens on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 50th most-seen of the 242 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.
June and August–September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Dropwing in Athens on a given day, against under 5% in December to April, the lowest months. Those are among Athens's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 85 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Violet Dropwing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 23
Of the 23 cities where we can rate Violet Dropwing sightings, Athens ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Dammam (Saudi Arabia, about 50%), Antalya (Turkey, about 40%) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 40%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Violet Dropwing that you can see in Athens (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Keeled Skimmer (about 20%), Nomad (about 10%) and Common Darter (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Violet Dropwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Athens (26 verified sightings), 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.
