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 Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 248th most-seen of the 354 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 and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-Winged Glider in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–June, the lowest months. Those are among Saguaro National Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.
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.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Spot-Winged Glider sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Acadia National Park (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spot-Winged Glider is recorded against all the insects logged in Saguaro National Park (6 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.
