Rare Dragonfly Species Spotted on the South Coast

A local group of resident Citizen Scientists at Renishaw Hills on the KZN South Coast has recently documented a startling sighting of a rare dragonfly. (Image credit: Tim McClurg)

A rare specimen of dragonfly was spotted along the KwaZulu-Natal Mid-South Coast—the Sable Cruiser dragonfly, of which there have been around 20 sightings in South Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (14 April 2025) — It was an exciting time for residents and citizen scientists at Reinshaw Hills on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast when a rare dragonfly sighting was added to the growing list of unique species they’d spotted.

It happened in December, near the Reinshaw Hills Community Centre. Tim McClurg’s curiosity drew him towards the dragonfly, which he photographed, and later posted on iNaturalist—a platform supported by the National Geographic Society.

“The response was immediate and enthusiastic from our local group of experts — among them Peter Small — who confirmed it was a Sable Cruiser [Phyllomacromia monoceros], which is incredibly rare, localised and vulnerable,” said Tim.

“The total number of specimens ever seen in South Africa is probably around 20, with the first recorded sighting in Barbeton, Mpumalanga around 1920.”

The recent sighting is believed to be the furthest South in which the Sable Cruiser has been spotted.

“This raises a few questions. Has it always occurred here and simply been overlooked? Was it blown down by a storm? Is there a link with global warming? These are the sorts of questions that we may be able to answer with a vastly increased iNaturalist database,” Tim adds.

Peter Small adds, “We have recorded 75 of the 165 species of southern African dragonflies and damselflies in our area, with a few being unusual distribution records. Our area is rated as one of the top dragonfly hunting spots in the country.”

The sighting speaks largely to the power of citizen scientists and their role in helping scientists collect data.

Reinshaw Hills has been developed with conservation efforts in mind, lending itself to enhancing the area’s biodiversity. As such, there is a lot of room for citizen scientists to explore, and explore they have!

There are around 44 local Citizen Scientists behind the project on iNaturalist. To date, they have made 13,863 observations spread across 1,796 species.

“Citizen Science opens the door to a hugely advanced system whereby biodiversity observations may be made constantly across the globe and shared instantly via a vast network,” explains Tim.

Those interested in finding out more can visit www.inaturalist.org.