‘Fearless and quietly astonishing’: the dragonfly that migrates further than any other insect

All hail the wandering glider, a citizen of the globe, an insect for all of us. The wandering glider is found on every continent except Antarctica, and from sea level to more than 6,000 metres above it in the Himalayas. View image in fullscreen A wandering glider dragonfly (Pantala flavescens) in Gambia. Photograph: blickwinkel/AlamyIts ubiquity and ability to quickly produce a new generation point to its truly awesome power: this 4.5cm-long insect weighing a fraction of a gram migrates further than any other known insect. My vote goes to the wandering glider.”