Sympetrum danae
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Sympetrum danae, the black darter or black meadowhawk, is a dragonfly with a northern Holarctic distribution in northern Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America. It is a very active late summer insect typical of heathland and moorland bog pools.
Members of the genus Sympetrum are known as darters in Europe, and as meadowhawks in North America. At 29–34 mm (1.1–1.3 in) long and with a 20–30 mm (0.8–1.2 in) hindwing, it is one of the smallest species of Sympetrum, and Britain's smallest resident dragonfly. Both sexes have black legs and pterostigmata. The abdomen is narrowest near the base, widening towards the tip.
The male has a mainly black thorax and abdomen. In younger males, the thorax has three diagonal yellow side marks separated by a bold black panel, and the abdomen has yellow marks on the side, that darken with age; fully mature males are entirely black. It is the only species of Sympetrum with no red on the males.
Females and teneral (newly emerged) males are patterned black and yellow, with three diagonal yellow bars on the thorax and an extensively yellow upper side of the abdomen, becoming browner with age. The wings are transparent with a network... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 8 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 12 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 14 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 15 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 2 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Minsk | 🇧🇾 Belarus | |
| 6 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Yekaterinburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 9 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Kazan | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Meadowhawk sighting in Saint Petersburg on a given day, based on 125 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 448 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.
August and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Meadowhawk in Saint Petersburg on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Meadowhawk sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Black Meadowhawk sightings, Saint Petersburg ranks 7th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Helsinki (Finland, about 10%), Novosibirsk (Russia, about 10%) and Anchorage (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Sympetrum
The closest relatives of the Black Meadowhawk that you can see in Saint Petersburg (genus Sympetrum, Meadowhawks) are Vagrant Darter (about 10%) and Yellow-Winged Darter (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Meadowhawk is recorded against all the insects logged in Saint Petersburg (125 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.
