Calopteryx xanthostoma
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The western demoiselle or yellow-tailed demoiselle (Calopteryx xanthostoma) is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It replaces the banded demoiselle (C. splendens) in southern France and the Iberian Peninsula, and is sometimes considered a subspecies of that species (hybrids frequently occur in areas where they overlap).
The male of C. xanthostoma generally has more extensive colouring in the wings than that of C.splendens, usually reaching to the wingtips. Unlike C. splendens, the males have clear wings when first emerging as adults, only developing the wing colour during the first week as an adult.
The colour of the underside of the tip of the abdomen is sometimes cited as an identification feature, being said to be yellowish in this species and whitish in C. splendens, but some sources consider this to be unreliable. The metallic green, clear-winged females are virtually identical to female C. splendens and are difficult to separate, even in the hand.
This species lives in habitat around running watercourses, such as streams and rivers, usually in open or somewhat shady areas. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Demoiselle sighting in Madrid on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 302nd most-seen of the 457 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 a Western Demoiselle in Madrid on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months. Those are among Madrid's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 65 mm in October.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Demoiselle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Madrid, in our data
Madrid is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Western Demoiselle sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Demoiselle is recorded against all the insects logged in Madrid (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.
