Blue-Eyed Darner

Blue-Eyed Darner

Rhionaeschna multicolor

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

5 Verified sightings at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks From 2019 to 2026
43 In all 5 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Blue-Eyed Darner

The blue-eyed darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor, syn. Aeshna multicolor) is a common dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae; native to the western United States, it is commonly sighted in the sagebrush steppe of the Snake River Plain, occurring east to the Midwest from central Canada and the Dakotas south to west Texas and Oklahoma. In Central America it occurs south to Panama. This is usually the second earliest darner to emerge in the spring, with the California darner emerging first. It hunts small flying insects while on the wing. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Toluca 🇲🇽 México
~10%
2 Puebla 🇲🇽 México
~10%
3 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
~10%
8 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
10 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-Eyed Darner in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Eyed Darner sighting in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 137th most-seen of the 161 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue-Eyed Darner in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks?

June to September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Eyed Darner in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 190 mm in January.

What time of day is best to see a Blue-Eyed Darner?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-Eyed 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.

Is Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks the best place to see a Blue-Eyed Darner?

Among the best

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Blue-Eyed Darner sightings, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 10%) and Death Valley National Park (United States, about 10%).

Where does the Blue-Eyed Darner sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-Eyed Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (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.

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