Twister

Twister

Tholymis tillarga

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Xiamen City

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

5 Verified sightings at Xiamen City
58 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Twister

Tholymis tillarga, the coral-tailed cloudwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found from tropical West Africa to Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Common names include old world twister, evening skimmer, crepuscular darter, foggy-winged twister, and twister.

It is a medium sized dragonfly with reddish eyes, yellowish red thorax and coral red abdomen. Its wings are transparent; but hind wings have a golden-brown patch in the base, bordered by a cloudy-white patch. Female is brown and lacks the cloudy-white patch in the hind-wings.

It is a migrant with a permanent presence in humid parts of the tropics. It breeds in standing water-bodies; and prefers weedy ponds, swamps and lakes. They are active at dusk and dawn, as well as during cloudy days. The genus name Tholymis is possibly derived from the Greek θώραξ (thōrax, "thorax" or "chest") and λυγαῖος (lygaios, "shadowy" or "murky"), together with the common dragonfly suffix -themis. The name may refer to the dark-coloured thorax of males of Tholymis citrina.

The derivation of the species name tillarga is unknown. List of odonates... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ankarafantsika National Park 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~50%
2 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
3 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
4 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
5 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
6 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
2 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~20%
4 Vadodara 🇮🇳 India
~20%
5 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~20%
6 Salem 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Kollam 🇮🇳 India
~20%
8 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
~20%
9 Davao City 🇵🇭 Philippines
~20%
10 Lagos 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Twister in Xiamen City?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Twister sighting in Xiamen City on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 45th most-seen of the 59 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.

When is the best time to see a Twister in Xiamen City?

June and September–November

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Twister in Xiamen City on a given day, against under 5% in August and December–May, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Twister?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Twister sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Xiamen City the best place to see a Twister?

25th of 37

Of the 37 cities where we can rate Twister sightings, Xiamen City ranks 25th at about 10%. The best odds are in Yogyakarta (Indonesia, about 30%), Kochi (India, about 30%) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Twister live in Xiamen City?

Same family: Libellulidae

The closest relatives of the Twister that you can see in Xiamen City (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Slender Skimmer (about 20%), Ditch Jewel (about 20%) and Crimson Marsh Glider (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Twister sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Twister is recorded against all the insects logged in Xiamen City (5 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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