Ecchlorolestes nylephtha
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Ecchlorolestes nylephtha is a species of damselfly in the family Synlestidae known commonly as the queen malachite. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is known only from the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces. This slender malachite is 47–55 mm long with a wingspan of 57–61 mm. Males and females are similar; the thorax and abdomen are metallic-green to bronze, with yellow antehumeral stripes on the thorax. Mature males, however, have a bright pruinose-blue colouring on the collar, between the wings and on the last two segments of the abdomen. Both sexes can be distinguished from malachites of the genus Chlorolestes by their wing venation.
This damselfly lives in shady forest habitat on fern-lined streambanks. Loss of this natural forest habitat is a potential threat to the species, but populations are currently thought to be stable. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Queen Malachite sighting in Garden Route National Park on a given day, based on 37 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 298 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Queen Malachite in Garden Route National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and October, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Queen Malachite 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 Garden Route National Park, in our data
Garden Route National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Queen Malachite sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Synlestidae
The closest relatives of the Queen Malachite that you can see in Garden Route National Park (family Synlestidae, Sylphs) are Forest Malachite (about 20%), White Malachite (about 10%) and Conspicuous Malachite (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Queen Malachite is recorded against all the insects logged in Garden Route National Park (37 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.
