Crocothemis erythraea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The scarlet dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. Its common names include broad scarlet, common scarlet-darter, and scarlet darter. The scarlet dragonfly is a common species in southern Europe and throughout Africa. It also occurs across western Asia as far as southern China. It is a very rare vagrant in Britain. Its first record in the country was at Hayle Kimbro Pool, The Lizard, Cornwall, on 7 August 1995. Since then there have been a few further records at scattered coastal or near-coastal locations in southeastern England from Dorset to Norfolk.
A wide range of both running and standing waters, except those that are shaded. Adults may be found some distance from water in habitats ranging from desert to open woodland; absent from dense forest. Crocothemis erythraea can reach a length of 33–44 millimetres (1.3–1.7 in). These dragonflies haves a flattened and rather broad abdomen. The adult male scarlet dragonfly has a bright scarlet red, widened abdomen, with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. Also the veins on the leading edges of the wings are red. Females... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 8 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 12 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 16 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 18 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 19 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 20 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 21 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 22 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 23 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 24 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 3 | Antalya | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 4 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 6 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 7 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Naples | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 9 | Turin | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | 🇮🇱 Israel |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Broad Scarlet sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 82nd most-seen of the 274 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.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Broad Scarlet in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Pretoria's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 130 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Broad Scarlet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
25th of 38
Of the 38 cities where we can rate Broad Scarlet sightings, Pretoria ranks 25th at about 10%. The best odds are in Antananarivo (Madagascar, about 50%), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 40%) and Antalya (Turkey, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Broad Scarlet is recorded against all the insects logged in Pretoria (21 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.
