Somatochlora minor
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Somatochlora minor, the ocellated emerald, is a species of emerald dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It is found in North America. The IUCN conservation status of Somatochlora minor is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is stable.
The ocellated emerald is a small dragonfly. It has a metallic green face. The thorax is brown and metallic green with conspicuous pale yellow oval spots on each side. The abdomen is black with yellow spots on the basal segments. The female has a downward-facing spike near the end of the abdomen.
The genus name Somatochlora means "green bodied", referring to the metallic green coloration of some of its members. The specific epithet minor refers to its small size. The common name refers to the eye-like spots on the sides of the adult's thorax and the species classification as an emerald.
The ocellated emerald often perches on vegetation near small streams between patrols flying close to the water surface. It oviposits using either repeated taps of moving water or alternating taps of the water surface near the shore and mossy bank above. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Ocellated Emerald sighting in Edmonton on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 182nd most-seen of the 390 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.
June and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ocellated Emerald in Edmonton on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months. Those are among Edmonton's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Only Edmonton, in our data
Edmonton is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Ocellated Emerald sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Ocellated Emerald that you can see in Edmonton (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Black Meadowhawk (about 10%), Variable Darner (about 10%) and Pale Snaketail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ocellated Emerald is recorded against all the insects logged in Edmonton (14 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.
