Crocothemis sanguinolenta
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Crocothemis sanguinolenta is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Africa south of the Sahara (including Madagascar), in the Levant, and in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. It is found in or near fresh water in a wide variety of habitats, from semi-arid bush to tropical forest.
Common names for this species include little scarlet, slim scarlet-darter and small scarlet. Over most of its range, Crocothemis sanguinolenta is easily confused with Crocothemis erythraea, but C. sanguinolenta has a narrower abdomen (3 mm or less wide), the lateral carinae of S3 to S7 are usually marked with black dashes, and the pterostigmata are short and usually the same colour as the abdomen (red in mature males). The abdomen of Crocothemis erythraea is 3.5 mm or more wide, the lateral carinae of S3 to S7 are generally unmarked, and the pterostigmata are longer and less brightly coloured than the abdomen.
Little scarlet Species text in the Online Atlas of South African Odonata Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Little Scarlet sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 92nd most-seen of the 344 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.
November to March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Little Scarlet in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to October, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 110 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Scarlet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Little Scarlet sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 40%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 10%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Scarlet is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain National Park (47 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.
