I was absolutely thrilled last Friday to photograph a Wandering Glider dragonfly (Pantala flavescens) while I was wandering the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Wandering Gliders, also know as Globe Skimmers or Globe Wanderers, are considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet, with a good population on every continent except Antarctica, although they are rare in Europe, according to Wikipedia. Wandering Gliders make an annual multigenerational journey of some 11,200 miles (about 18,000 km); to complete the migration, individual Wandering Gliders may fly more than 3,730 miles (6,000 km)—one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
As their name suggests, Wandering Gliders are one of those species that like to patrol endlessly in the sky, rarely stopping to perch. When I first spotted this Wandering Glider it was flying back and forth overhead and my neck grew tired as I tried to track it visually in the air. It fooled me a couple of times when it flew low over a patch of vegetation and I thought it might stop for a moment, but it continued to fly. Eventually it landed and perched, hanging at a slight angle from a broken-off branch about a foot (30 cm) off of the ground.
A Wandering Glider is a fairly compact dragonfly at about 1.9 inches (48 mm) in length, but as you can see in the photo, it has long, broad wings. For comparison purposes, Black Saddlebags dragonflies, which I featured last week, are a bit bigger at 2.2 inches (55 m), and Common Green Darners, another migratory dragonfly species, are even larger at up to 3 inches in length (76 mm).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
He looks a little like a flying hot pepper. Great photo, Mike.
Thanks, Dan. I chuckled at the thought of a flying hot pepper. I am kind of a wimp when it comes to hot peppers. Even jalapenos can be a bit much for me at times and I would not even consider trying a habanero. 🙂
Has disaster movie written all over it, Mike.
Very nice Mike! What a Great Find! Great images!
Thanks, Reed. I only was able to photograph it on a single perch, so there was a limit to how I was able to photograph the dragonfly. Mostly I was inching my way forward on my knees. 🙂
What an inconspicuous traveler. Lovely. Thanks Mike.
Fabulous photograph of an “almost never lands” dragon!
In our area, I’ve learned to scan for a dragon perched at a 45 degree angle rather than the 90 degrees most odes of that size prefer. And, yes, I get dizzy trying to get a flight shot.
Nice work, Mike!
Once again patience pays off! Great captures, and I like Dan’s description as a flying hot pepper. That fits the touch of color perfectly.
Beautiful Mike and obviously a rare occurrence. Love the red details!