Libellula luctuosa
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. The nymphs live in the water, molting and growing until they are ready to emerge from the water and then molting a final time to reveal their wings.
Widow skimmers have large bulky bodies, with large heads. Males have a steely blue body area but females are yellow with brown stripes. Eyes are also large and close together meeting in the middle of the head. They have three pairs of legs. Legs are black in color. They have two pairs of wings: forewings and hindwings. Wings of both sexes are marked with prominent black basal bands. They keep their wings extended over their bodies. Adult males develop broad white spots at midwing as they mature. The abdomen measures 24–32 mm. They also have a slight white hue on their abdomen and thorax.
This species can be found commonly across the United States (except in the higher Rocky Mountains areas) and in southern Ontario and Quebec. This species is found commonly in muddy substrates, or still bodies of waters such as ponds, lakes, streams, and creeks.
They are predators... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Widow Skimmer sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 276th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and July–August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Widow Skimmer in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and September–February, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Widow Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Widow Skimmer sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Widow Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (30 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.
