Rhionaeschna californica
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Rhionaeschna californica, the California darner, is a species of darner in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae. It is commonly found in Central America, along the West Coast of the United States, and in Southwestern Canada. The California darner prefers habitats like lakes, ponds, marshes and stream pools with edge vegetation including many with alkaline water conditions Larvae sustain themselves on a diet of aquatic insects, very small fish and tadpoles. The adult-stage will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect.
The IUCN conservation status of Rhionaeschna californica is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is stable. The IUCN status was reviewed in 2017. As an adult, the California darner is described as a medium-sized dragonfly, typically measuring between 5.7 and 6.4 centimetres (2+1⁄4 and 2+1⁄2 in) in length. California darners are best distinguished by their distinct bright blue diagonal spots on their abdomen.
Male California darners have a dark brown to brownish-black body with two blue or green diagonal stripes across each side of the thorax, while the top thorax is plain in color. Most females are polymorphic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a California Darner sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 129th most-seen of the 482 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.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a California Darner in Vancouver on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Vancouver's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain against 210 mm in November.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most California Darner sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate California Darner sightings, Vancouver ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Portland (United States, about 10%) and Seattle (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the California Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Vancouver (45 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.
