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spot-winged glider
spot-winged glider (Pantala hymenaea) [female] [male]
Photos © Mary Kay Rubey
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
Robust, cream to red-brown colored dragonfly with large wings. They have small yellow spots on the front of each wing; and small, black spots near body on the very large hind wings. They have large red-grey eyes on an orange face. Immature females are pale in color and have contrasting patterns that become less pronounced with age. Males are typically darker and have a smaller abdomen. They deposit fat like birds to maintain their energy for long distance flights, lasting hours, even days. They are close relatives to Saddlebags (Tramea) and look similar.
BEHAVIORS
This species can be found all over Illinois from June to September. They have rapid and erratic flight and perch in trees and branches. Males patrol territorially in flight. Females deposit eggs alone, in large shallow pools in rivers. They skim along the waters surface, swoop down, and dip their abdomen into the water to drop eggs. They are known to migrate long distances, especially along the eastern coast of the United States.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Libellulidae
Illinois Status: common, native
