#3724 · 🪽 dragonflies & damselflies

Wandering Glider

🇳🇱 Wereldzwerver ·Pantala flavescens

LCleast concern 🪽 Dragonflies & damselflies 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Gregg Darling · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Mariano Fernández Kloster · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Sakern | 永隔一江水 · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Denis Doucet · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Ryan Jacob · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © Tom Mills · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. © Mark Dennis · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Pantala flavescens , the globe skimmer , globe wanderer or wandering glider , is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala from the subfamily Pantalinae. It was first described by Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet with good population on every continent except Antarctica although rare in Europe.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 37,052iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
37,052 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798 (228 years ago).