Eight-Spotted Skimmer

Eight-Spotted Skimmer

Libellula forensis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at San Francisco

In 3 days ~10%

10 Verified sightings at San Francisco
23 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Eight-Spotted Skimmer

The eight-spotted skimmer (Libellula forensis) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
4 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Eight-Spotted Skimmer in San Francisco?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eight-Spotted Skimmer sighting in San Francisco on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 480th most-seen of the 737 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Eight-Spotted Skimmer in San Francisco?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eight-Spotted Skimmer in San Francisco on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see an Eight-Spotted Skimmer?

Between 1 and 4 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eight-Spotted Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is San Francisco the best place to see an Eight-Spotted Skimmer?

6th of 6

Of the 6 cities where we can rate Eight-Spotted Skimmer sightings, San Francisco ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Seattle (United States, about 20%), Portland (United States, about 10%) and Vancouver (Canada, about 10%).

Where does the Eight-Spotted Skimmer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Eight-Spotted Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in San Francisco (10 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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