Uropetala carovei
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Uropetala carovei (New Zealand bush giant dragonfly) is a giant dragonfly of the family Petaluridae, endemic to New Zealand. Its Māori name, kapokapowai (or kapowai) means "water snatcher", alluding to the water dwelling juvenile stage (nymph), which, like all dragonflies, has a long extendable jaw that shoots out to snatch prey. It is also known as Carové's Giant Dragonfly.
Its yellow and black body can be up to 95 millimetres (3.7 in) long, with a wingspan up to 130 millimetres (5.1 in), making it the largest dragonfly in New Zealand. Females are slightly larger than males. The bodies of both the female and male are dark brown, with pale spots on the abdomen and thorax. Males have petal-shaped appendages at the tip of the abdomen. Uropetala carovei can be distinguished from the similar Uropetala chiltoni, which occurs in the mountains of the South Island, by its all-black labrum (lacking the large pale blotch on Uropetala chiltoni), and its brown to yellowish leg femur segments (which are black in Uropetala chiltoni).
Uropetala carovei was first described by Adam White in 1843 and originally named Petalura carovei. The Natural History Museum, London... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Carové's Giant Dragonfly sighting in Egmont National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 191 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Carové's Giant Dragonfly in Egmont National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to December, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Carové's Giant Dragonfly 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 3 parks where we can rate Carové's Giant Dragonfly sightings, Egmont National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Arthur's Pass National Park (New Zealand, about 10%) and Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, about 10%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Carové's Giant Dragonfly that you can see in Egmont National Park (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Red Damselfly (about 10%) and Blue Damselfly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Carové's Giant Dragonfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Egmont National Park (20 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.
