Synlestes weyersii
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Synlestes weyersii is a species of Australian damselfly in the family Synlestidae, commonly known as a bronze needle. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it inhabits streams and rivers. Synlestes weyersii is a large to very large damselfly, coloured a metallic bronze-black to green-black with yellow markings. It perches with its wings partially or fully outspread.
The genus name Synlestes is derived from the Greek σύν (syn, "together"), combined with Lestes, a genus name derived from the Greek λῃστής (lēstēs, "robber"). In 1869, Edmond de Sélys Longchamps named this species weyersii, an eponym honouring Joseph Léopold de Weyers, Secretary and Librarian of La Société Entomologique de Belgique, for his services to entomology.
List of Odonata species of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bronze Needle sighting in Great Otway National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 253rd most-seen of the 418 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bronze Needle in Great Otway National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and May–November, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bronze Needle sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Bronze Needle sightings, Great Otway National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Bronze Needle that you can see in Great Otway National Park (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Tau Emerald (about 20%), Slender Ringtail (about 10%) and Wandering Percher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bronze Needle is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Otway National Park (9 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.
