Orthetrum chrysostigma
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Orthetrum chrysostigma, the epaulet skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Israel, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi as well as Canary Islands, and Portugal. It was recorded in the Maltese Islands in 2010.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs. The adults prey on various flying insects. The bodies of adult males are blue, and those of young and females are yellow and brown. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Epaulet Skimmer sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 44 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Epaulet Skimmer in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and June–January, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Epaulet 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.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Epaulet Skimmer sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Epaulet Skimmer that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Orange-Winged Dropwing (about 20%), Lucia Widow (about 20%) and Southern Banded Groundling (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Epaulet Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (13 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.
