Bold Skimmer

Bold Skimmer

Orthetrum stemmale

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at iSimangaliso Wetland Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

45 Verified sightings at iSimangaliso Wetland Park From 2019 to 2026
169 In all 4 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Bold Skimmer

Orthetrum stemmale is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes.

Bold skimmer Species text in the Online Atlas of South African Odonata Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ankarafantsika National Park 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~40%
2 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
3 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
4 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Antananarivo 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~20%
2 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Bold Skimmer in iSimangaliso Wetland Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bold Skimmer sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 46th most-seen of the 316 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Bold Skimmer in iSimangaliso Wetland Park?

March–April, June, September and November

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Bold Skimmer in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Bold Skimmer?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bold Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is iSimangaliso Wetland Park the best place to see a Bold Skimmer?

3rd of 4

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Bold Skimmer sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Ankarafantsika National Park (Madagascar, about 40%) and uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Bold Skimmer live in iSimangaliso Wetland Park?

Same genus: Orthetrum

The closest relatives of the Bold Skimmer that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (genus Orthetrum) are Julia Skimmer (about 20%), Long Skimmer (about 20%) and Robust Skimmer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Bold Skimmer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Bold Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (45 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.

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