Progomphus borealis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Progomphus borealis is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. This dragonfly species is commonly known as the gray sanddragon. The gray sanddragon is a medium to large dragonfly with a maximum length of 2.25 to 2.44 inches (57 to 62 mm). Its face and thorax are grayish to yellowish brown, and its thorax may be marked with black. The abdomen of this dragonfly is black and marked with yellow on the top of every segment. Under the tip of the abdomen is marked with yellow as well, and the abdominal tip is swollen as in other members of this family.
The nymph of the gray sanddragon is large in size with a length of 1 inch (25 mm). This dragonfly nymph is sandy brown in color and has short legs covered with stiff bristles. Its abdomen turns up at the tip, and there is a single, rear-facing spine on every side of abdominal segments three through nine.
Gray sanddragons can be found in Arizona, California, Chihuahua, Idaho, Jalisco, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington. In Idaho these dragonflies can be found at desert streams in the southwest corner of the state.
The gray sanddragon... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Sanddragon sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 138th most-seen of the 354 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Sanddragon in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, August and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Saguaro National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 55 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray Sanddragon sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Saguaro National Park, in our data
Saguaro National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Gray Sanddragon sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Gray Sanddragon that you can see in Saguaro National Park (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Flame Skimmer (about 20%), Variegated Meadowhawk (about 20%) and Desert Firetail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray Sanddragon is recorded against all the insects logged in Saguaro National Park (23 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.
