Libellula depressa
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Libellula depressa, the broad-bodied chaser is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.
This insect is around 39–48 mm in length, with both the male and the female having a broad, flattened abdomen which is brown with yellow patches down the sides. In the male, the abdomen develops a blue pruinosity that covers the brown colour. Both fore and hind wings have a dark patch at the base. Both the male and female have broad antehumeral stripes. The average wingspan is approximately 70 mm. L. depressa is very distinctive and is not easily confused with any other dragonflies in the region.
L. depressa is found in central and southern Europe, central Asia and the Middle East. Its range extends northwards throughout England and Wales and into southern Scotland, southern Sweden and southern Finland. and it occurs on some Mediterranean islands including Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Menorca. Historically its range did not extend into Scotland, but it has colonised north there in recent decades... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Rostov-on-Don | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 9 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 10 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Broad-Bodied Chaser sighting in Monfragüe National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 70th most-seen of the 84 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Broad-Bodied Chaser in Monfragüe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Broad-Bodied Chaser sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Broad-Bodied Chaser sightings, Monfragüe National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%), Cévennes National Park (France, about 20%) and Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Broad-Bodied Chaser that you can see in Monfragüe National Park (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Northern Banded Groundling (about 20%), Broad Scarlet (about 20%) and Violet Dropwing (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Broad-Bodied Chaser is recorded against all the insects logged in Monfragüe National Park (5 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.
