Orthetrum brunneum
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Orthetrum brunneum, the southern skimmer, is a species of 'skimmers' belonging to the family Libellulidae. This 'skimmer' is present in most of Europe and the range extends to Mongolia and North Africa. It occurs in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia; Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
This species mainly prefers small streams, canals and ditches, with shallow, fast warming water. The adults grow up to 40–45 millimetres (1.6–1.8 in) long. Their dimensions on average are larger than in Orthetrum coerulescens.
The thorax and the abdomen are pale blue in males, yellowish-brown or greyish-brown in females. Young males are... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Skimmer sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 738th most-seen of the 1277 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Skimmer in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Southern Skimmer sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Pyrénées National Park (10 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.
