Trithemis kirbyi
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Trithemis kirbyi, also known as the Kirby's dropwing, orange-winged dropwing, or scarlet rock glider is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. It is also present in southern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Ocean Islands and South Asia to India.
Since 2003 this African tropical dragonfly has been colonizing Europe helped by a widespread increase in temperatures. It is now breeding successfully in Spain, Portugal and France. The adult male abdomen measures 21–24 mm and hind wing 24–27 mm. Female abdomen measures 23 mm and hind wing 26–30 mm. The male is a medium-sized scarlet dragonfly with a broad reddish amber patch on the base of transparent wings. The female is similar to the male, but duller in color. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical streams... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berenty Reserve | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 7 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 9 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Orange-Winged Dropwing sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 63rd most-seen of the 311 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.
February
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Orange-Winged Dropwing in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in June–September and November, the lowest months. That is one of Cape Town's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 140 mm in June.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Orange-Winged Dropwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 14
Of the 14 cities where we can rate Orange-Winged Dropwing sightings, Cape Town ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Lusaka (Zambia, about 30%), Marrakesh (Morocco, about 20%) and Harare (Zimbabwe, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Orange-Winged Dropwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Town (78 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.
