Austroaeschna pulchra
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Austroaeschna pulchra is a species of large dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae, known as the forest darner. It inhabits streams and rivers in eastern Australia, from around Brisbane through to Victoria. The male Austroaeschna pulchra is a brown to black dragonfly with yellow, green or blue markings; while the female is brown with yellow markings. They appear similar to the Carnarvon darner, Austroaeschna muelleri.
The genus name Austroaeschna combines the prefix austro- (from Latin auster, meaning “south wind”, hence “southern”) with Aeshna, a genus of dragonflies. The species name pulchra is derived from the Latin pulcher ("beautiful"), likely referring to a marking on the abdomen.
List of dragonflies of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Darner sighting in Springbrook National Park on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 38th most-seen of the 429 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.
December
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Darner in Springbrook National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–August and October, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Forest Darner sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Forest Darner sightings, Springbrook National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Lamington National Park (Australia, about 30%).
Same genus: Austroaeschna
The closest relatives of the Forest Darner that you can see in Springbrook National Park (genus Austroaeschna) are Unicorn Darner (about 10%) and Sigma Darner (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Forest Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Springbrook National Park (48 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.
