Diet

• Tramea onusta is a highly active aerial predator. Adults capture small flying insects, including mosquitoes, flies and other small insects, while on the wing.

• The larvae are aquatic predators that feed on small aquatic invertebrates and insect larvae.

Range

• The Red Saddlebags is widely distributed from the southern and western United States through Mexico and Central America to Venezuela, and also occurs in the Greater Antilles.

• Tramea onusta occurs in the Zihuatanejo region and can be encountered around suitable freshwater habitats, particularly during the rainy season.

Habitat

• It is associated with ponds, marshes, lagoons and other quiet or slow-moving freshwater habitats, including temporary water bodies.

• Adults are powerful fliers and often spend considerable time away from water, patrolling over open areas and returning to perches periodically.

• Around Zihuatanejo, suitable habitat includes seasonal ponds, lagoons, marshes and open wet areas surrounded by tropical dry forest or coastal vegetation.

Description

• The Red Saddlebags is a medium-sized, robust dragonfly, approximately 39–46 mm long.

• Mature adults have a reddish-brown to reddish body, with the abdomen becoming darker toward the tip. The most distinctive feature is the large reddish to red-brown patches at the bases of the hind wings, giving the species its “saddlebags” name.

• The hind-wing patches are broad and conspicuous, while the remainder of the wings is largely clear. Females and immature individuals are generally less intensely coloured than mature males.

• It can be distinguished from the Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) by its red rather than black hind-wing patches and reddish body.