Carolina, red, and Striped Saddlebags
Carolina Saddlebags. This species is fairly common in our area. I see Carolina Saddlebags from April through early September. The earliest ones in April are migrants.
Another Carolina Saddlebags. This species is very similar to the Red Saddlebags, but Carolinas are the more common of the two in our area. Carolina Saddlebags have purple faces and smaller clear "windows" in the saddle next to their bodies. A Red Saddlebags would have a red or brown face and a large, rounded clear window in the saddle. Also, a Red Saddlebags would have black only on the tops of Segments 8 & 9 (near the tip of the abdomen). A Carolina Saddlebags usually has black on the sides of these segments as well.
This teneral Carolina Saddlebags was lurking in the vegetation on the Cox Arboretum prairie. I often see teneral Carolinas emerging in August and September, in the same locations where the migratory adults arrived in the spring.
This Carolina Saddlebags is showing off his dark purple face and balancing skills, deftly perched on a thin stem while his wings flutter in the breeze.
Carolina Saddlebags were considered an uncommon species in Ohio at one time. This is one of many southern species that has greatly expanded its presence in our state in recent years.
Another Red Saddlebags, photographed at Oakes Quarry. Note the large, rounded clear window in the saddle. Red Saddlebags are much less common than Carolinas in our area. They tend to show up from mid-summer through autumn. I have seen them from late June through October.
Carolina Saddlebags in flight. Note the purple face and the black on the sides of S8 and S9. The red saddle does not have a rounded, clear window like a Red Saddlebags (below).
This is a Red Saddlebags. Note the large rounded clear window in the wing. Also, the face is brown rather than purple. This is one of several Red Saddlebags that I photographed at Oakes Quarry in early July 2023.
Red Saddlebags. The red patches on his hindwings are smaller than the red saddles on a Carolina Saddlebags, and the anal loop is clear.
Another Red Saddlebags. Notice that the black color on Segments 8 and 9 (at the tip of the abdomen) does not extend down the sides of those segments.
Red Saddlebags perched at Oakes Quarry. Again, note that Segments 8 and 9 are only black on the top, not on the sides. Also, the anal loop beside the saddle is clear.
This is a Striped Saddlebags, a rare migrant to Ohio. Terri Norris found a couple of individuals at Old Reid Park near Springfield in October 2025. I photographed this one on October 4, 2025. It is the only Striped Saddlebags I have seen. Note the white stripes on the side of the thorax.
Another look at the Striped Saddlebags. The saddle is very narrow and has a smooth outer edge.