Mike Powell

When I first spotted a tiny Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) flying low over the water and flexing yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, I assumed that it was a female depositing eggs into the water. As I continued to watch (and try to get shots) a couple of things became clear—it was a male, not a female, and he was pointing his abdomen up into the air, not down into the water. What was he doing?

Apparently this is courting behavior and he was trying to impress a lady that he had spotted. There is a fascinating description of this process in a blog posting by the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Field station that I highly recommend. Here is an extract from that posting.

“A male flies low over the water, patrolling a territory about 20 feet wide of choice egg-laying turf (weedy aquatic sites) and defending it vigorously – darting out at intruders and displaying with those spectacular wings. When a female approaches, he follows and courts her, swaying back and forth, abdomen raised. If she’s agreeable, she follows him home. He hovers over his territory while she evaluates it, and if she likes it, she gets him along with it.”

As the third photo shows, his courting behavior was successful. After they mated, she deposited the eggs into the water and he returned to his perch, ready to chase off rivals and attract more female dragonflies. (In case you are not familiar with this dragonfly species, the Eastern Amberwing is one of the smallest dragonflies in the United States, with a body length of just under one inch (25 mm).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.