Pantala hymenaea
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pantala hymenaea (spot-winged glider) is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. It is a migratory species and is native to North, Central and South America, travelling widely and breeding in temporary water bodies. It looks very similar to the wandering glider, with the addition of a dark basal spot on the hindwing. It is a common species with a very large range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being of "least concern".
P. hymenaea, otherwise known as the spot-winged glider, is a robust species with a cylindrical abdomen and broad hindwings. Its length is about 5 cm (2 in) and its wingspan 7.5 cm (3 in). The eyes are red and the face is also red in breeding males. The general body color is brown, and females and immatures have a diagonal white marking on the thorax. There is a small dark brown spot at the base of the hindwings which distinguishes this species from the otherwise similar wandering glider (Pantala flavescens).
The spot-winged glider is a widespread and common species in the New World, occurring in North, Central and South America. Its range includes six provinces in Canada (British... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-Winged Glider sighting in Portland on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 316th most-seen of the 507 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-Winged Glider in Portland on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Portland's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 250 mm in December.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spot-Winged Glider sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 21
Of the 21 cities where we can rate Spot-Winged Glider sightings, Portland ranks 15th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sacramento (United States, about 10%), Baltimore (United States, about 10%) and Mesa (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Libellulidae
The closest relatives of the Spot-Winged Glider that you can see in Portland (family Libellulidae, Skimmers) are Common Whitetail (about 20%), Flame Skimmer (about 10%) and Blue Dasher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spot-Winged Glider is recorded against all the insects logged in Portland (14 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.
