Rhyothemis semihyalina
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Rhyothemis semihyalina, the Phantom Flutterer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Réunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes.
Phantom flutterer Species text in the Online Atlas of South African Odonata Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Phantom Flutterer sighting in Lusaka on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 60th most-seen of the 72 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Phantom Flutterer in Lusaka on a given day, against under 5% in February–October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Lusaka's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain against almost none in August.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Phantom Flutterer sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Phantom Flutterer sightings, Lusaka has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Durban (South Africa, under 5%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Phantom Flutterer that you can see in Lusaka (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Wandering Glider (about 40%), Orange-Winged Dropwing (about 30%) and Red-Veined Dropwing (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Phantom Flutterer is recorded against all the insects logged in Lusaka (5 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.
