Tetrathemis irregularis
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Tetrathemis irregularis is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae, known as the rainforest elf. It is a tiny to small, slender dragonfly with black and yellow markings. It inhabits rainforest streams in north-eastern Australia
and Southeast Asia, including the Aru Islands. The genus name Tetrathemis is derived from the Greek τετρα- (tetra, "four") and -themis, from Greek Θέμις (Themis), the goddess of divine law, order and justice. In early odonate taxonomy, names ending in -themis were widely used for dragonflies. The name refers to the apparently four-sided triangle in the wings.
The species name irregularis is derived from the Latin in- ("not") and regularis ("regular" or "orderly"). The name also refers to the irregular four-sided triangle in the wings. List of Odonata species of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rainforest Elf sighting in Daintree National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 100th most-seen of the 856 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rainforest Elf in Daintree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rainforest Elf sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Daintree National Park, in our data
Daintree National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rainforest Elf sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Rainforest Elf that you can see in Daintree National Park (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Fiery Skimmer (about 30%), Painted Grasshawk (about 30%) and Asian Blood Tail (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rainforest Elf is recorded against all the insects logged in Daintree National Park (33 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
