Asian Widow

Asian Widow

Palpopleura sexmaculata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Tuen Mun

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

6 Verified sightings at Tuen Mun
23 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Asian Widow

Palpopleura sexmaculata, commonly known as the Asian widow or blue-tailed yellow skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is widespread in several countries in South, East and Southeast Asia, but is no longer believed to occur in Sri Lanka.

It is a small dragonfly with brown capped greenish eyes. Its thorax is greenish yellow and hind-wings usually tinted with yellow from the base. Pterostigma is black in adults bi-colored in juveniles and sub-adults as in females. Its abdomen is pruinosed with light blue, leaving segments 1-3 as yellow. Sub-adult males and females are yellow. The pterostigma of the female are bi-colored with half black and half yellow. It breeds in marshy areas and small pools in the hills.

List of odonates of Sri Lanka List of odonates of India List of odonata of Kerala sexmaculata.html World Dragonflies Animal diversity web Query Results Sri Lanka Biodiversity Data related to Palpopleura sexmaculata at Wikispecies

Media related to Palpopleura sexmaculata at Wikimedia Commons Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tuen Mun 🇨🇳 China
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Asian Widow in Tuen Mun?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Widow sighting in Tuen Mun on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 441st most-seen of the 557 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Asian Widow in Tuen Mun?

July to October

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Widow in Tuen Mun on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an Asian Widow?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Asian Widow sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see an Asian Widow?

Only Tuen Mun, in our data

Tuen Mun is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Asian Widow sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Asian Widow live in Tuen Mun?

Same family: Libellulidae

The closest relatives of the Asian Widow that you can see in Tuen Mun (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Common Picture Wing (about 30%), Slender Skimmer (about 20%) and Pied Paddy Skimmer (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Asian Widow sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Asian Widow is recorded against all the insects logged in Tuen Mun (6 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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