Libellula semifasciata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Libellula semifasciata, the painted skimmer, is an uncommon eastern North American skimmer dragonfly, found from New Brunswick, Canada as far south as Texas and Florida. It is a medium-sized species, at 43 mm (1.7 in) long. Each wing is amber coloured at the base and wing tip and has several brown spots. The abdomen has a lateral strip that is white anteriorly and yellow posteriorly. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Skimmer sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 421st most-seen of the 978 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Skimmer in Chicago on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Chicago's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 50 mm in January.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Painted Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Painted Skimmer sightings, Chicago ranks 7th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in New York City (United States, under 5%), Philadelphia (United States, under 5%) and Baltimore (United States, under 5%).
Same genus: Libellula
The closest relatives of the Painted Skimmer that you can see in Chicago (genus Libellula, Chasers and King Skimmers) are Twelve-Spotted Skimmer (about 10%) and Widow Skimmer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Painted Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Chicago (20 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.
