Ladona julia
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The chalk-fronted corporal (Ladona julia) is a skimmer dragonfly found in the northern United States and southern Canada. Juveniles of both sexes are light reddish brown, with white shoulder stripes and a black stripe down the middle of the abdomen. As they mature, males develop a white pruinescence on the top of the thorax and at the base of the abdomen, while the rest of the abdomen turns black. Females become almost uniformly dark brown, with a dusting of gray pruinescence near the base of the abdomen; a few develop the same color pattern as the males.
Chalk-fronted corporals often perch horizontally on the ground or on floating objects in the water, flying up to take prey from the air. They are gregarious for dragonflies, and are commonly seen perching in groups. They readily approach humans to feed on the mosquitoes and biting flies that humans attract. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chalk-Fronted Corporal sighting in Toronto on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 732nd most-seen of the 1689 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chalk-Fronted Corporal in Toronto on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chalk-Fronted Corporal 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 4 cities where we can rate Chalk-Fronted Corporal sightings, Toronto ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Boston (United States, under 5%) and Montreal (Canada, under 5%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Chalk-Fronted Corporal that you can see in Toronto (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Common Whitetail (about 10%), Blue Dasher (about 10%) and Twelve-Spotted Skimmer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chalk-Fronted Corporal is recorded against all the insects logged in Toronto (18 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.
