Paddle-Tailed Darner

Paddle-Tailed Darner

Aeshna palmata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Salt Lake City

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

7 Verified sightings at Salt Lake City
156 In all 9 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Paddle-Tailed Darner

The paddle-tailed darner (Aeshna palmata) is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is common throughout western Canada and United States. This species is named after its distinctive paddle-shaped appendages. It lives in many habitats, particularly lakes, ponds, and slow streams, usually with dense shore vegetation. Aeshna palmata was scientifically described for the first time in 1856 by Hermann Hagen. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
5 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
6 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
7 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
2 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
3 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
4 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
5 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
6 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Paddle-Tailed Darner in Salt Lake City?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Paddle-Tailed Darner sighting in Salt Lake City on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 181st most-seen of the 242 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Paddle-Tailed Darner in Salt Lake City?

July and August

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Paddle-Tailed Darner in Salt Lake City on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Salt Lake City's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 70 mm in December.

What time of day is best to see a Paddle-Tailed Darner?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Paddle-Tailed Darner sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Salt Lake City the best place to see a Paddle-Tailed Darner?

Among the best

Of the 6 cities where we can rate Paddle-Tailed Darner sightings, Salt Lake City ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Denver (United States, under 5%), Seattle (United States, under 5%) and Vancouver (Canada, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Paddle-Tailed Darner live in Salt Lake City?

Same family: Aeshnidae

The closest relatives of the Paddle-Tailed Darner that you can see in Salt Lake City (family Aeshnidae, Darners) are Blue-Eyed Darner (about 10%) and Common Green Darner (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Paddle-Tailed Darner sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Paddle-Tailed Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Salt Lake City (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.

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