Last week I spotted my first Eastern Amberwing dragonflies (Perithemis tenera) of the season at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. These distinctively colored dragonflies are a frequent sight throughout the summer as they buzz about over the waters of ponds. Eastern Amberwings are small, even by dragonfly standards, with a total length of less than an inch (25 mm) and are considered to be a wasp mimic. According to Wikipedia, “The Eastern Amberwing dragonfly is one of the only types of dragonfly that actively mimics a wasp. The yellow and brown stripes on its abdomen encourage predators to stay away. When perched, they will wiggle their abdomen and wings in a wasp-like fashion to deter other animals from eating it.”
My second and third shots are portraits of perched male Eastern Amberwing dragonflies that were carefully composed and sharp, but my favorite image of the day is the dynamic shot of two dragonflies in flight. It may not be obvious what is going on in the photo, so let me explain. After mating, the female in the upper left corner is getting ready to deposit her eggs in the water, while the male in the lower right corner hovers in the air, ready to keep any rivals from interfering with the process.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice Series of Images Mike! Always like your dragonfly images!
Thanks, Reed. A lot of the summer species are now on the scene.
Very nice, Mike! They have such stunning coloured wings.
Thanks, Pete. There are no other dragonflies in our area that have that amber/orange wing coloration, which I too find to be stunning.
Another beauty Mike, we don’t have dragons anywhere near that small!
Thanks. According to a local expert, Eastern Amberwings are the smallest dragonfly in Northern Virginia, where I live, and second smallest in the United States, only Elfin Skimmers are smaller.
Beautiful photos, Mike!
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Thanks, Mitzy.
Wow, two in flight in the same shot! At first I thought there were four (well, three and a half), but those are reflections, of course. The markings on their abdomens are really spectacular.
Thanks, Gary. Getting two in fight and more or less in focus was a matter of luck and good timing. The male would move positions but more or less stayed at about the same altitude. The female would hover then suddenly drop down and tap the water to release some eggs. At the moment of this shot I was fortunate to catch them both hovering a little within the frame at approximately the same height above the water.
What a perfectly-named species! They do look like they are made of amber.