Vestalis gracilis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Vestalis gracilis, is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is known commonly as the clear-winged forest glory or clear-winged flash-wing. It is native to Southeast Asia and surrounding regions.
The male and female are similar in size; the male having an abdomen 45 to 46 millimeters long and a hindwing 34 to 38 millimeters long and the female with an abdomen 43 to 50 millimeters long and a hindwing 36 to 39 millimeters long.
The male is iridescent green with a yellow and black underside. It has brown legs and blue-tinged transparent wings. The eyes are dark brown above and greenish yellow below. The female is duller greenish brown in color. This is a common species across much of its range. It breeds in forest streams, often in disturbed and cultivated areas too. Commonly seen as a group rest among bushes in forest paths and shades together with Vestalis apicalis.
It is now synonymised with V. a. submontana and is considered as a separate species Vestalis submontana. List of odonates of India List... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Flashwing sighting in Mumbai on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 283rd most-seen of the 362 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.
January–February, April and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Flashwing in Mumbai on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–September and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Mumbai's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 830 mm in July.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plain Flashwing 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 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Plain Flashwing sightings, Mumbai ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Kozhikode (India, about 10%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Plain Flashwing that you can see in Mumbai (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Chalky Percher (about 30%), Scarlet Skimmer (about 20%) and Wandering Glider (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plain Flashwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Mumbai (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.
