Blue-Eyed Darner

Blue-Eyed Darner

Rhionaeschna multicolor

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Los Angeles

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

233 Verified sightings at Los Angeles
43 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Blue-Eyed Darner

The blue-eyed darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor, syn. Aeshna multicolor) is a common dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae; native to the western United States, it is commonly sighted in the sagebrush steppe of the Snake River Plain, occurring east to the Midwest from central Canada and the Dakotas south to west Texas and Oklahoma. In Central America it occurs south to Panama. This is usually the second earliest darner to emerge in the spring, with the California darner emerging first. It hunts small flying insects while on the wing. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Toluca 🇲🇽 México
~10%
2 Puebla 🇲🇽 México
~10%
3 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
~10%
8 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
10 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-Eyed Darner in Los Angeles?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Eyed Darner sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 233 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 100th most-seen of the 851 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.

When is the best time to see a Blue-Eyed Darner in Los Angeles?

August to October

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Eyed Darner in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months. Those are among Los Angeles's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 75 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Blue-Eyed Darner?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-Eyed Darner 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 Los Angeles the best place to see a Blue-Eyed Darner?

12th of 16

Of the 16 cities where we can rate Blue-Eyed Darner sightings, Los Angeles ranks 12th at under 5%. The best odds are in Toluca (México, about 10%), Puebla (México, about 10%) and Portland (United States, about 10%).

Where does the Blue-Eyed Darner sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-Eyed Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Los Angeles (233 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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