Aeshna interrupta
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The variable darner (Aeshna interrupta) is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae, native from Alaska through the Northwest Territories to Newfoundland, south to New Hampshire and Michigan in the eastern United States, and to the mountains of New Mexico, Arizona, and California in the west. It's named after the distinctive broken stripes on the sides of the thorax of many male specimens. It lives in many habitats from northern and mountain peatlands to cattail marshes and temporary pools. It is the characteristic species of grassland ponds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Darner sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 104 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Darner in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among Riding Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Darner sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Variable Darner sightings, Riding Mountain National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Grand Teton National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Aeshna
The closest relatives of the Variable Darner that you can see in Riding Mountain National Park (genus Aeshna, Hawkers and Typical Darners) are Lake Darner (about 20%) and Canada Darner (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Riding Mountain National Park (30 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.
