Tramea lacerata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The black saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout North America. It has distinctive wings with characteristic black blotches at their proximal ends, which make the dragonfly look as though it is wearing saddlebags.
The black saddlebags is a relatively large dragonfly at about 5 centimetres (2 in) in length. The body is thin and black, and the female may have lighter spotting or mottling dorsally. The head is much wider than the rest of the body and is dark brown in color.
The insect can be found at bodies of stagnant water, such as ponds and ditches. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Saddlebags sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 53 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 201st most-seen of the 693 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.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Saddlebags in San Diego on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months. That is one of San Diego's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 55 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Saddlebags 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 26
Of the 26 cities where we can rate Black Saddlebags sightings, San Diego ranks 25th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sacramento (United States, about 10%), Mesa (United States, about 10%) and Austin (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Saddlebags is recorded against all the insects logged in San Diego (53 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.
