BLACK SADDLEBAGS (Tramea lacerata)
- flier
- medium size (length 2 inches, wingspread 3 inches)
- black all over
- female and immature with yellow spot on S7
- broad black “saddle” at base of hindwing
Individuals move north from tropics during summer, breeding along the way. Migratory flights south in fall, presumably their offspring but poorly known. Also resident populations.
SIMILAR SPECIES
- Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) – similar shape and silhouette, body and wings red to reddish-brown
- Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta) – similar shape and silhouette, body and wings red to reddish-brown
- Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) – percher, with extensive dark marking in forewings as well as hindwings; mature males with white on wings, pale gray abdomen
SIMILAR TROPICAL SPECIES
- Sooty Saddlebags (Tramea binotata) – slightly smaller, black hindwing patches much narrower
- Marl Pennant (Macrodiplax balteata) – percher, male black with smaller hindwing patches; female quite different
