Diplacodes haematodes
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Diplacodes haematodes, the scarlet percher, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It occurs throughout Australia (except Tasmania), Timor, New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. It is locally common in habitats with hot sunny exposed sites at or near rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes. It often prefers to settle on hot rocks rather than twigs or leaves, and is quite wary. This is a spectacular species of dragonfly, although small in size (wingspan 60mm, length 35mm). The male is brilliant red, the female yellow-ochre. Females have yellow infuscation suffusing the outer wings, while the males have similar colour at the bases of the wings.
The genus name Diplacodes combines Diplax, a genus name derived from the Greek δίς (dis, "twice") and πλάξ (plax, "flat and broad"), with the Greek suffix –ώδης (-ōdēs, "resembling" or "having the nature of"). The name refers to the similarity of the genus to Diplax and Diplacina.
The species name haematodes is derived from the Greek αἱματώδης (haimatōdēs, "blood-like" or "looking like blood"), referring to the blood-red colour of the body and wing veins. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Scarlet Percher sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 768 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 13th most-seen of the 1083 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to April
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Scarlet Percher in Brisbane on a given day, against about 10% in July and August, the lowest months. Those are among Brisbane's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in July.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scarlet Percher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Scarlet Percher sightings, Brisbane has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Sydney (Australia, about 10%) and Perth (Australia, about 10%).
Same genus: Diplacodes
The closest relatives of the Scarlet Percher that you can see in Brisbane (genus Diplacodes, Perchers) are Wandering Percher (about 20%) and Chalky Percher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Scarlet Percher is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (768 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.
