Trithemis pallidinervis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The long-legged marsh glider or dancing dropwing (Trithemis pallidinervis) is a species of dragonfly found in Asia. The long-legged marsh glider is a medium-sized yellowish brown dragonfly with long legs. In males, the face is yellow or pale brown in front and iridescent purple above. The eyes are colored reddish brown above, brown on sides and bluish grey below. The thorax is olivaceous brown above with a dark brown triangle. On the sides, it is bright yellowish brown with three black stripes on each side. The legs are black, long, and spidery. The basal half of the femora of the first pair of legs are bright yellow. The wings are transparent with reddish venation. The forewings have amber basal markings. The wings have a golden sheen when viewed from certain angle. Wing spot is black with creamy white ends. The abdomen looks bright yellow in color with black median and lateral stripes. These stripes are confluent at the end of each abdominal segment to enclose a wedge shaped yellow spot. The male varies in colour from yellow (below) to chocolate brown when matured.
The females are similar to males but with a broad abdomen. The only way to distinguish the male from... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dancing Dropwing sighting in Chennai on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 100th most-seen of the 376 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dancing Dropwing in Chennai on a given day, against under 5% in November to January, the lowest months. Those are among Chennai's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dancing 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.
Among the best
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Dancing Dropwing sightings, Chennai ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kolkata (India, about 10%) and Salem (India, about 10%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Dancing Dropwing that you can see in Chennai (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Chalky Percher (about 40%), Wandering Glider (about 30%) and Slender Skimmer (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dancing Dropwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Chennai (32 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.
