Diplacodes haematodes
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Diplacodes haematodes, the scarlet percher, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It occurs throughout Australia (except Tasmania), Timor, New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. It is locally common in habitats with hot sunny exposed sites at or near rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes. It often prefers to settle on hot rocks rather than twigs or leaves, and is quite wary. This is a spectacular species of dragonfly, although small in size (wingspan 60mm, length 35mm). The male is brilliant red, the female yellow-ochre. Females have yellow infuscation suffusing the outer wings, while the males have similar colour at the bases of the wings.
The genus name Diplacodes combines Diplax, a genus name derived from the Greek δίς (dis, "twice") and πλάξ (plax, "flat and broad"), with the Greek suffix –ώδης (-ōdēs, "resembling" or "having the nature of"). The name refers to the similarity of the genus to Diplax and Diplacina.
The species name haematodes is derived from the Greek αἱματώδης (haimatōdēs, "blood-like" or "looking like blood"), referring to the blood-red colour of the body and wing veins. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Scarlet Percher sighting in Perth on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 42nd most-seen of the 275 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Scarlet Percher in Perth on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months. That is one of Perth's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 130 mm in July.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scarlet Percher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Scarlet Percher sightings, Perth ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 20%) and Sydney (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Scarlet Percher is recorded against all the insects logged in Perth (50 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.
