Tramea onusta
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red Saddlebags sighting in Padre Island National Seashore on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 74 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Red Saddlebags in Padre Island National Seashore on a given day, against under 5% in January–February and November, the lowest months. That is one of Padre Island National Seashore's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 40 mm in February.
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.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Red Saddlebags sightings, Padre Island National Seashore has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Big Bend National Park (United States, under 5%) and Everglades National Park (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red Saddlebags is recorded against all the insects logged in Padre Island National Seashore (31 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
