Sympetrum vulgatum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The vagrant darter, or moustached darter, (Sympetrum vulgatum) is a European dragonfly. The species takes its English name from its habit of occasionally appearing as a rare vagrant north of its normal range. However, it is likely to be under-recorded because it is very similar to the common darter (S. striolatum).
The species is common in central and northeast Europe. It breeds in standing water. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 2 | Astana | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 3 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 4 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 5 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Stockholm | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 8 | Kazan | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 9 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Vagrant Darter sighting in Saint Petersburg on a given day, based on 226 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 448 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.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Vagrant Darter in Saint Petersburg on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months. That is one of Saint Petersburg's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain against 40 mm in February.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Vagrant Darter sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 19
Of the 19 cities where we can rate Vagrant Darter sightings, Saint Petersburg ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Helsinki (Finland, about 30%), Astana (Kazakhstan, about 20%) and Warsaw (Poland, about 10%).
Same genus: Sympetrum
The closest relatives of the Vagrant Darter that you can see in Saint Petersburg (genus Sympetrum, Meadowhawks) are Black Meadowhawk (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 Vagrant Darter is recorded against all the insects logged in Saint Petersburg (226 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.
