Platycnemis pennipes
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The white-legged damselfly or blue featherleg (Platycnemis pennipes) is a damselfly of slow-flowing, muddy waters. It occurs from the Atlantic to Siberia and is often abundant throughout its range. Platycnemis pennipes is about 32 millimetres (1.3 in) long. Mature adults differ from most other blue damselflies in having expanded white edges to the tibiae, paired black markings down most of the abdomen, broad pale brown double antehumeral stripes, wider head and a pale brown pterostigmata.
The male has a blue abdomen that is often pale and usually has a greenish thorax. The female is a very pale yellow-green colour with black markings. This species favours unshaded slow-flowing sections of muddy rivers with abundant floating vegetation. it has been recorded in tidal rivers and the larvae seem well able to tolerate brackish water. It also occurs in muddy streams but is rare in lakes or ponds of any sort. In north-west Europe, it is mostly confined to flowing waters.
The males are very territorial and use their enlarged legs to impress other individuals. Elongated eggs are laid whilst in tandem, into emergent stems and especially the underside of floating... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 3 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 6 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Featherleg sighting in Vienna on a given day, based on 283 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 55th most-seen of the 1406 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Featherleg in Vienna on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months. Those are among Vienna's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in February.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Featherleg sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 23
Of the 23 cities where we can rate Blue Featherleg sightings, Vienna ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 20%), Turin (Italy, about 20%) and Kyiv (Ukraine, about 20%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Blue Featherleg that you can see in Vienna (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Blue-Tailed Damselfly (about 10%), Common Winter Damselfly (about 10%) and Ruddy Darter (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Featherleg is recorded against all the insects logged in Vienna (283 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.
