Tetrathemis irregularis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Tetrathemis irregularis is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae, known as the rainforest elf. It is a tiny to small, slender dragonfly with black and yellow markings. It inhabits rainforest streams in north-eastern Australia
and Southeast Asia, including the Aru Islands. The genus name Tetrathemis is derived from the Greek τετρα- (tetra, "four") and -themis, from Greek Θέμις (Themis), the goddess of divine law, order and justice. In early odonate taxonomy, names ending in -themis were widely used for dragonflies. The name refers to the apparently four-sided triangle in the wings.
The species name irregularis is derived from the Latin in- ("not") and regularis ("regular" or "orderly"). The name also refers to the irregular four-sided triangle in the wings. List of Odonata species of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rainforest Elf sighting in Manila on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 102nd most-seen of the 122 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rainforest Elf in Manila on a given day, against under 5% in February and May–December, the lowest months. That is one of Manila's driest months, with about 100 mm of rain against 390 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rainforest Elf sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Manila, in our data
Manila is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rainforest Elf sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Rainforest Elf that you can see in Manila (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Chalky Percher (about 30%), Straight-Edge Red Parasol (about 20%) and Green Skimmer (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rainforest Elf is recorded against all the insects logged in Manila (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.
