Orthetrum brunneum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Orthetrum brunneum, the southern skimmer, is a species of 'skimmers' belonging to the family Libellulidae. This 'skimmer' is present in most of Europe and the range extends to Mongolia and North Africa. It occurs in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia; Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
This species mainly prefers small streams, canals and ditches, with shallow, fast warming water. The adults grow up to 40–45 millimetres (1.6–1.8 in) long. Their dimensions on average are larger than in Orthetrum coerulescens.
The thorax and the abdomen are pale blue in males, yellowish-brown or greyish-brown in females. Young males are... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Skimmer sighting in Milan on a given day, based on 110 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 50th most-seen of the 351 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.
July
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Skimmer in Milan on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern 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.
2nd of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Southern Skimmer sightings, Milan ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Rostov-on-Don (Russia, about 20%).
Same genus: Orthetrum
The closest relatives of the Southern Skimmer that you can see in Milan (genus Orthetrum) are Black-Tailed Skimmer (about 20%), White-Tailed Skimmer (about 20%) and Keeled Skimmer (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Milan (110 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.
