Chlorolestes tessellatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Chlorolestes tessellatus, the forest malachite or mosaic sylph is a species of damselfly in the family Synlestidae. It is endemic to South Africa. This shade-loving species is found at seeps and streams in forests and wooded valleys.
It is 47–57 mm (1.9–2.2 in) long with a wingspan of 55–72 mm (2.2–2.8 in). Males and females are similar; the thorax and abdomen are metallic-green aging to coppery brown. The thorax has contrasting yellow antehumeral stripes; these are more broad than those of the similar Mountain Malachite. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Malachite sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 224th most-seen of the 401 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, September and November–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Malachite in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May–August and October, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Forest Malachite sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Durban, in our data
Durban is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Forest Malachite sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Forest Malachite that you can see in Durban (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Julia Skimmer (about 30%), Lucia Widow (about 20%) and Red-Veined Dropwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Forest Malachite is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (10 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.
