Common Glider

Tramea loewii · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

Also called: Common Glider Dragonfly

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Common Glider
Photo: Summerdrought, CC BY-SA

The common glider is a medium-to-large dragonfly about 45 mm long with an 85 mm wingspan. Males have a red abdomen, a striped purplish thorax and dark red patches at the base of the hindwings; females are dull brown with brown wing patches. It lives around still waters such as ponds, swamps and lagoons across Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, the western Pacific and New Caledonia, and has recently appeared in New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males show a red abdomen, a striped thorax on a purplish background and red patches at the hindwing bases; females are dull brown with brown wing patches.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Body length is about 45 mm and wingspan about 85 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It inhabits a variety of still-water sites including ponds, swamps and lagoons.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It has recently become self-introduced in New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It resembles Tramea stenoloba but differs in thorax colouration and the shape of the secondary genitalia.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Common Glider photo 3
Photo: Bill Higham, CC BY 2.0
Common Glider photo 4
Photo: John Tann from Mullumbimby, Australia, CC BY 2.0
Common Glider photo 5
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0
Common Glider photo 6
Photo: John Tann from Mullumbimby, Australia, CC BY 2.0

Questions people ask

Where is the common glider found?

It lives around ponds, swamps and lagoons from Indonesia and New Guinea through Australia to the western Pacific and New Caledonia, and has recently appeared in New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Libellulidae)

Blue DasherBlue DasherPachydiplax longipennisEastern PondhawkEastern PondhawkErythemis simplicicollisCommon WhitetailCommon WhitetailPlathemis lydiaWidow SkimmerWidow SkimmerLibellula luctuosaAutumn MeadowhawkAutumn MeadowhawkSympetrum vicinumCommon DarterCommon DarterSympetrum striolatum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramea_loewii

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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