Rhodothemis lieftincki
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Rhodothemis lieftincki, common name Red arrow, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. The genus Rhodothemis is found in India, south-east Asia and Australia. Rhodothemis lieftincki is the only species of the genus seen in Australia. It inhabits coastal and inland streams, rivers, lagoons and ponds in an arc around northern Australia, from about Geraldton in the west to Sydney in the east.
Rhodothemis lieftincki is a medium-sized dragonfly with a wingspan about 60-85mm. The adult male is red in colour, and the female is a duller brown or orange. Rhodothemis lieftincki has been assessed for the IUCN Red List as being of least concern.
The genus name Rhodothemis combines the Greek ῥόδο- (rhodo, "rosy") and -themis, from Greek Θέμις (Themis), the goddess of divine law, order and justice. In early odonate taxonomy, names ending in -themis were widely used for dragonflies. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red Arrow sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 318 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 65th most-seen of the 1083 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.
December to March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red Arrow in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in June to September, the lowest months. Those are among Brisbane's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in July.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red Arrow sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Brisbane, in our data
Brisbane is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Red Arrow sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Red Arrow that you can see in Brisbane (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Wandering Percher (about 20%), Fiery Skimmer (about 20%) and Blue Skimmer (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red Arrow is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (318 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.
