Argia fumipennis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The variable dancer (Argia fumipennis) is a damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread throughout the east and present in the interior western United States. The male of the subspecies A. f. violacea (the violet dancer) is purple with a blue tip. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Dancer sighting in Washington on a given day, based on 462 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 78th most-seen of the 1807 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Dancer in Washington on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Dancer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Variable Dancer sightings, Washington has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Baltimore (United States, about 10%) and Boston (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Argia
The closest relatives of the Variable Dancer that you can see in Washington (genus Argia, Dancers) are Blue-Fronted Dancer (about 10%) and Blue-Tipped Dancer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Dancer is recorded against all the insects logged in Washington (462 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.
