The long-distance safari of the Wandering Glider

Imagine you are sitting in a city park for a lunch break, relaxing after a hard morning’s work, enjoying to do nothing, just looking at the sky. Awakening from your day dreams you suddenly become aware of a dozen or so dragonflies leisurely sailing back and forth some metres over your head, sometimes plucking a tiny insect from the air, a snack for the moment. Would you ever assume that these swarm-feeding animals are the strongest and most skillful insects on our planet? Pantala flavescens is their scientific name. Known as the ‘Wandering Glider’ in South Africa, this is the globally widest-ranging dragonfly species that occurs mainly in the tropical and subtropical zones of all continents, but only rarely appearing as vagrant in Europe though. In Africa, it may be found from the southernmost point up to the Sub-Saharan zone. As its vernacular name reveals, this dragonfly regularly migrates over long distances. Individuals in Millions have been discovered by Chinese radar stations even crossing the Himalayan up to 5’300 m a.s.l. The most spectacular migration was evidenced by the marine biologist Charles Anderson who lives in the Maldives. He observed Globe Skimmers every year arriving at the islands with the monsoon, coming from southern India in October in great numbers, then continuing on to the Seychelles and aiming to eastern Africa where they arrive with the monsoon rains that enable them to reproduce after having crossed 3500 km of the open sea. Exploiting of the surface waters emerged from the rains they may produce three to four generations due to their enormously quick larval development just needing 35–40 days. The swarms then fly back over the Ocean to the northern Indian subcontinent to start the annual circuit again. Amazing how they make their migratory way of estimated 14 000 to 18 000 km over land and across sea. Although they harness the tail winds of the steadily moving Inter-tropical Convergence Zone they still have to be on the wing while crossing the Indian Ocean. How do they orient during the day and at night? Where do they get the energy from? Do they perhaps feed on tiny insects drifted themselves by the winds? Many questions are still open.

Anyway, next time you come across a dragonfly you may remember the stunning achievement just of a small insect like the Wandering Glider. By the way: South Africa harbors more than 160 species of these fascinating creatures, all with their own habitat preferences and behaviour, some even endemic. But don’t forget that every dragonfly needs freshwater for completing its life cycle: streams and rivers, swamps and ponds, lakes and reservoirs.

Female Pantala Flavescens

Male Pantala Flavescens