Crocothemis erythraea
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The scarlet dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. Its common names include broad scarlet, common scarlet-darter, and scarlet darter. The scarlet dragonfly is a common species in southern Europe and throughout Africa. It also occurs across western Asia as far as southern China. It is a very rare vagrant in Britain. Its first record in the country was at Hayle Kimbro Pool, The Lizard, Cornwall, on 7 August 1995. Since then there have been a few further records at scattered coastal or near-coastal locations in southeastern England from Dorset to Norfolk.
A wide range of both running and standing waters, except those that are shaded. Adults may be found some distance from water in habitats ranging from desert to open woodland; absent from dense forest. Crocothemis erythraea can reach a length of 33–44 millimetres (1.3–1.7 in). These dragonflies haves a flattened and rather broad abdomen. The adult male scarlet dragonfly has a bright scarlet red, widened abdomen, with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. Also the veins on the leading edges of the wings are red. Females... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 8 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 12 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 16 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 18 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 19 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 20 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 21 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 22 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 23 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 24 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 3 | Antalya | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 4 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 6 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 7 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Naples | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 9 | Turin | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | 🇮🇱 Israel |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Broad Scarlet sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 125 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 316 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Broad Scarlet in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 10% in July and August, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Broad Scarlet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 24
Of the 24 parks where we can rate Broad Scarlet sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 5th at about 30%. The best odds are in Camargue (France, about 40%), uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 30%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Broad Scarlet that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Lucia Widow (about 30%), Violet Dropwing (about 30%) and Southern Banded Groundling (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Broad Scarlet is recorded against all the insects logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (125 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.
