Brachythemis leucosticta
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
Brachythemis leucosticta, the banded groundling or Southern banded groundling, is a species of dragonfly belonging to the family Libellulidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Brachythemis leucosticta was first formally described as Libellula leucosticta in 1839 by the German entomologist Hermann Burmeister with its type locality designated as Port Natal. It was long considered that there was a single species, the banded groundling, but in 2009 they were split into two species; the Southern banded groundling (B. leucosticta) and the Northern Banded Groundling (B. impartita) with a wide area of overlap in central Africa.
Brachythemis leucosticta is a small species of dragonfly with a length of up to 33 mm (1.3 in) and a wingspan of up to 57 mm (2.2 in). The males have a completely black abdomen and thorax, pterostigmata which are bicoloured including yellow, a very dark brown or blackish band near the tip of each wing and a black face and eyes. The females have a yellow and black thorax and abdomen the colour becoming less bright in older individuals and they have brown banded eyes.
Brachythemis leucosticta is found in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 3 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 7 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 8 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 9 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 12 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 13 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 15 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 16 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 17 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 18 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 19 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Banded Groundling sighting in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 9 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Banded Groundling in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, the lowest month. That is one of South Luangwa National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 310 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Banded Groundling sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Southern Banded Groundling sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 8th at about 40%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 50%), Ankarafantsika National Park (Madagascar, about 50%) and Lower Zambezi National Park (Zambia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Banded Groundling that you can see in South Luangwa National Park (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Lucia Widow (about 30%), Red Basker (about 20%) and Broad Scarlet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Banded Groundling is recorded against all the insects logged in South Luangwa National Park (13 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.
