Orthetrum chrysostigma
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Orthetrum chrysostigma, the epaulet skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Israel, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi as well as Canary Islands, and Portugal. It was recorded in the Maltese Islands in 2010.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs. The adults prey on various flying insects. The bodies of adult males are blue, and those of young and females are yellow and brown. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Epaulet Skimmer sighting in Harare on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 47th most-seen of the 93 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Epaulet Skimmer in Harare on a given day, against under 5% in February, June–August and October–December, the lowest months. Those are among Harare's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 200 mm in December.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Epaulet Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Epaulet Skimmer sightings, Harare ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tel Aviv (Israel, about 20%), Antalya (Turkey, about 20%) and Jerusalem (Israel, about 20%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Epaulet Skimmer that you can see in Harare (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Orange-Winged Dropwing (about 20%), Wandering Glider (about 10%) and Broad Scarlet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Epaulet Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Harare (7 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.
