Marsh Dancer

Marsh Dancer

Onychargia atrocyana

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Dhaka

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

20 Verified sightings at Dhaka
25 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Marsh Dancer

Onychargia atrocyana a species of damselfly in the family Platycnemididae. This species is commonly known as the marsh dancer or black marsh dart. It is found in Asia: Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam.

It is a medium sized damselfly with velvet-black head, thorax and black-capped brown eyes. The dorsum of the thorax has narrow citron-yellow ante humeral stripes in the sub-adult and teneral stage. The sides are citron-yellow, marked with a broad oblique black stripe over the postero-lateral suture in that stage. But all these marks are obscured by pruinescence in adults. Abdomen is black, unmarked in the adult; but with narrow bluish basal rings on segments 3 to 6. There are yellow marks on the lateral sides of segment 1 and 2 in sub-adults. Female is similar to the sub-adult male with yellow marks.

It breeds in ponds and marshes in forests. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
2 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
3 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
~30%
2 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Guwahati 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~30%
5 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
6 Prayagraj 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
8 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
10 New Delhi 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Marsh Dancer in Dhaka?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Dancer sighting in Dhaka on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 26th most-seen of the 92 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Marsh Dancer in Dhaka?

March, June and September

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Dancer in Dhaka on a given day, against under 5% in May, August and November–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Marsh Dancer?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Marsh Dancer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Dhaka the best place to see a Marsh Dancer?

Among the best

Of the 12 cities where we can rate Marsh Dancer sightings, Dhaka ranks 4th at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tamluk (India, about 30%), Kolkata (India, about 30%) and Guwahati (India, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Marsh Dancer live in Dhaka?

Same order: Odonata

The closest relatives of the Marsh Dancer that you can see in Dhaka (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Pied Paddy Skimmer (about 40%), Scarlet Skimmer (about 40%) and Coromandel Marsh Dart (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Marsh Dancer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Marsh Dancer is recorded against all the insects logged in Dhaka (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.

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