Anax parthenope
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Anax parthenope, the lesser emperor, is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, West Asia. It is a crepuscular dragonfly, active in the dusk. This species can be easily distinguished by the multicolored upper surface of frons and by the shape and relative lengths of the anal appendages. Its labium and labrum are golden-yellow and face and frons are greenish yellow and eyes are green, bluish when aged. Its thorax is pale olivaceous brown with dark brown sutures. Its segment two of the abdomen is turquoise blue. Segment three has a large blue patch at each side. Segments 4 to 9 have an irregular black middorsal stripe. Segment 10 is black.
A. parthenope is smaller and less colourful than Anax imperator. In general appearance, especially when seen on the wing, A. parthenope is similar to A. imperator, but A. parthenope tends to hold its abdomen straighter than A. imperator. A large dragonfly seen in flight with a bent abdomen is most likely to be A. imperator rather than A. parthenope. A. parthenope has a blue saddle at S2 and S3 which can be seen in flight, which is in contrast to the rest... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Emperor sighting in Valencia, Spain on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 117th most-seen of the 147 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Emperor in Valencia, Spain on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. That is one of Valencia, Spain's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 10 mm in July.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 20 cities where we can rate Lesser Emperor sightings, Valencia, Spain ranks 6th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Rostov-on-Don (Russia, about 10%), Algiers (Algeria, about 10%) and Turin (Italy, about 10%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Lesser Emperor that you can see in Valencia, Spain (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Nomad (about 30%), Epaulet Skimmer (about 20%) and Violet Dropwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Valencia, Spain (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.
