Trithemis annulata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Trithemis annulata, commonly known as the violet dropwing, violet-marked darter, purple-blushed darter, or plum-coloured dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in most of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. These dragonflies are called dropwings because of their habit of immediately lowering their wings after landing on a perch. Males of this species are violet-red with red veins in the wings, while females are yellow and brown. Both sexes have red eyes. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 8 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 15 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 17 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 18 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Dropwing sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 205th 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.
May and October–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Dropwing in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in February–April and June–September, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Violet Dropwing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
20th of 23
Of the 23 cities where we can rate Violet Dropwing sightings, Durban ranks 20th at under 5%. The best odds are in Dammam (Saudi Arabia, about 50%), Antalya (Turkey, about 40%) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 40%).
Same genus: Trithemis
The closest relatives of the Violet Dropwing that you can see in Durban (genus Trithemis, Dropwings) are Red-Veined Dropwing (about 10%), Orange-Winged Dropwing (about 10%) and Navy Dropwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Violet Dropwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (11 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.
