Jadera haematoloma
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Jadera haematoloma, the red-shouldered bug, goldenrain-tree bug or soapberry bug is a species of true bug that lives throughout the United States and south to northern South America. It feeds on seeds within the soapberry plant family, Sapindaceae, and is known to rapidly adapt to feeding on particular hosts. The species is often confused with boxelder bugs and lovebugs.
Jadera haematoloma are typically 9.5–13.5 millimetres (0.37–0.53 in) long and 3–4 millimetres (0.12–0.16 in) wide, though the short-winged form (brachyptera) usually is 7–8 millimetres (0.28–0.31 in) long. Color is mostly blackish (sometimes, bluish grey, or purplish, or bright red immediately after molting) except for red eyes, "shoulders" (lateral margins of pronotum), and costal margins and dorsal part of abdomen. Nymphs are mostly red with a black pronotum and wingpads. All appendages are blackish.
For most of the twentieth century, little was known about the range of J. haematoloma. Reports showed breeding populations to be present in Florida, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, California, Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina, Missouri, Iowa, as well as Georgia, South Carolina... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Tainan | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 4 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Shouldered Bug sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 100th most-seen of the 496 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.
November and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Shouldered Bug in Everglades National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June, August and October, the lowest months. Those are among Everglades National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 240 mm in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-Shouldered Bug sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Red-Shouldered Bug sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 10%) and Padre Island National Seashore (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Red-Shouldered Bug that you can see in Everglades National Park (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Common Cotton Stainer Bug (about 20%), Milkweed Assassin Bug (about 20%) and Florida Leaf-Footed Bug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-Shouldered Bug is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (42 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.
