Hyacinth Glider

Order: Odonata
- Suborder: Anisoptera (Dragonfly)
- - Family: Skimmers (Libellulidae)
- - - Genus: Miathyria
- - - - Species: marcella

This species is not normally found in Arizona, with the closest known breeding populations in southern Sonora, Mexico, and in Texas. The glider is typically associated with floating vegetation- (water hyacinth and lettuce) covered ponds and lakes. On 4 April 2020 Paul Suchanek documented a male perched in a mesquite tree in a dry riparian wash between Tucson and Benson (Pima Co.). This observation provides the first state record of the species.

Identification Tips


Species to compare (enter common name)

  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Male (posed), Sonora, Mexico, 13 August 2022
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Male (posed), Isidoro Lane Resaca, southern TX, 7 June 2013
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Male (posed), Nayarit, Mexico, 4 October 2009
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Immature male, Loxahatchee Marsh, southern FL, 7 January 2015
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Male, Nayarit, Mexico, 4 October 2009
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Male, southern Sonora, Mexico, 12 August 2019
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Female (posed), Gamboa, Panama, 7 July 2023
  • Hyacinth Glider
    Hyacinth Glider, Female, Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico, 10 August 2009