Trithemis annulata
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Trithemis annulata, commonly known as the violet dropwing, violet-marked darter, purple-blushed darter, or plum-coloured dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in most of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. These dragonflies are called dropwings because of their habit of immediately lowering their wings after landing on a perch. Males of this species are violet-red with red veins in the wings, while females are yellow and brown. Both sexes have red eyes. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 8 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 15 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 17 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 18 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Dropwing sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 629 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 748 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and December–March
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Dropwing in Kruger National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June to August, the lowest months. Those are among Kruger National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Violet Dropwing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Violet Dropwing sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 10th at about 20%. The best odds are in Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 60%), Meru National Park (Kenya, about 40%) and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Trithemis
The closest relatives of the Violet Dropwing that you can see in Kruger National Park (genus Trithemis, Dropwings) are Orange-Winged Dropwing (about 20%), Red-Veined Dropwing (about 20%) and Elegant Dropwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Violet Dropwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Kruger National Park (629 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.
