Tramea lacerata
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The black saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout North America. It has distinctive wings with characteristic black blotches at their proximal ends, which make the dragonfly look as though it is wearing saddlebags.
The black saddlebags is a relatively large dragonfly at about 5 centimetres (2 in) in length. The body is thin and black, and the female may have lighter spotting or mottling dorsally. The head is much wider than the rest of the body and is dark brown in color.
The insect can be found at bodies of stagnant water, such as ponds and ditches. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Saddlebags sighting in Detroit on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 170th most-seen of the 268 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Saddlebags in Detroit on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Saddlebags 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 26 cities where we can rate Black Saddlebags sightings, Detroit ranks 8th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Sacramento (United States, about 10%), Mesa (United States, about 10%) and Austin (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Black Saddlebags that you can see in Detroit (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Common Whitetail (about 10%), Blue Dasher (about 10%) and Autumn Meadowhawk (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Saddlebags is recorded against all the insects logged in Detroit (9 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.
