Austroaeschna pulchra
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Austroaeschna pulchra is a species of large dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae, known as the forest darner. It inhabits streams and rivers in eastern Australia, from around Brisbane through to Victoria. The male Austroaeschna pulchra is a brown to black dragonfly with yellow, green or blue markings; while the female is brown with yellow markings. They appear similar to the Carnarvon darner, Austroaeschna muelleri.
The genus name Austroaeschna combines the prefix austro- (from Latin auster, meaning “south wind”, hence “southern”) with Aeshna, a genus of dragonflies. The species name pulchra is derived from the Latin pulcher ("beautiful"), likely referring to a marking on the abdomen.
List of dragonflies of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Darner sighting in Lamington National Park on a given day, based on 76 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 430 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.
March and December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Darner in Lamington National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months. Those are among Lamington National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in August.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Forest Darner sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Forest Darner sightings, Lamington National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Springbrook National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same genus: Austroaeschna
The closest relatives of the Forest Darner that you can see in Lamington National Park (genus Austroaeschna) are Unicorn Darner (about 30%), Sigma Darner (about 20%) and Inland Darner (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Forest Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Lamington National Park (76 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.
