Tramea onusta
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The red-mantled saddlebags or red saddlebags (Tramea onusta) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It has translucent wings with red veins, and has characteristic dark red blotches at its proximal base, which makes the dragonfly look as if it is carrying saddlebags when flying. The last two bands and the cerci of these dragonflies are black.
Red saddlebags are strong, active daytime fliers that can be seen in tireless gliding flight over lawns and open areas such as parks and gardens. Their diet mainly consists of winged insects. Like their close relatives, the rainpool gliders (Pantala), saddlebag gliders have broad hindwings which are designed for hours of long distance gliding flight.
Female red-mantled saddlebags typically have bodies that are light brown or pale orange, with lighter white and brown eyes. Males have a distinctive red body color. This dragonfly has a wide distribution across North America; it is found south of San Francisco in the west and south of the Great Lakes in the east and as far south as Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red Saddlebags sighting in Houston on a given day, based on 308 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 67th most-seen of the 1057 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red Saddlebags in Houston on a given day, against under 5% in April and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red Saddlebags sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 18 cities where we can rate Red Saddlebags sightings, Houston ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Austin (United States, about 10%) and Mesa (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red Saddlebags is recorded against all the insects logged in Houston (308 verified sightings), 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.
