Portia Widow

Portia Widow

Palpopleura portia

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kruger National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%

33 Verified sightings at Kruger National Park From 2019 to 2026
69 In all 3 parks
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Portia Widow

Palpopleura portia, the portia widow, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Its natural habitats are 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. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
2 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
3 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~30%
2 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
3 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~20%
4 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
~20%
5 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Portia Widow in Kruger National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Portia Widow sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 229th most-seen of the 748 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.

When is the best time to see a Portia Widow in Kruger National Park?

May, August and November–March

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Portia Widow in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June–July and September–October, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Portia Widow?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

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

Is Kruger National Park the best place to see a Portia Widow?

Among the best

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Portia Widow sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 10%) and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 10%).

Where does the Portia Widow sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Portia Widow is recorded against all the insects logged in Kruger National Park (33 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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