Aeshna eremita
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Aeshna eremita, the lake darner, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Alaska, the Northern United States and across Canada. It is similar in size and markings to the Canada darner, but has a black line across its face.
Aeshna eremita was first scientifically described in an 1866 paper by American biologist S. H. Scudder published in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. The type specimens, fourteen males and two females, were collected in August around a site called Hermit Lake in the White Mountains of New England. Scudder provided a one-page synopsis of the colouration and morphology of both sexes. A holotype male specimen is held in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. The specific name, eremita, means "hermit" or "recluse" in Latin and refers to the site of discovery. The common name, "lake darner", refers to its common habitat of large lakes. All dragonflies of the family Aeshnidae, to which A. eremita belongs, are called "darners" in North America.
Aeshna crenata, a Euro–Siberian species, was thought by some scientists in the 19th century such as Hermann Hagen... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lake Darner sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 190th most-seen of the 191 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lake Darner in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lake 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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Lake Darner sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Riding Mountain National Park (Canada, about 20%), Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same genus: Aeshna
The closest relatives of the Lake Darner that you can see in Rocky Mountain National Park (genus Aeshna, Hawkers and Typical Darners) are Paddle-Tailed Darner (about 10%) and Variable Darner (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lake Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (9 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.
