Many of the early spring dragonflies are now gone, but the summer species are starting to show up in force. On Tuesday, for example, I spotted a large number of Eastern Amberwing dragonflies (Perithemis tenera), including the handsome male in the photo below, buzzing about the pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Eastern Amberwings are quite common during the summer and are the smallest dragonflies in our area at about one inch (25 mm) in length—it is easy to confuse them with wasps when you see them flying.
According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “Amberwings are reported to have the most intricate courtship of any dragonfly. After the male selects several possible egg-laying sites for a mate, he flies off to find a female and leads her back to his potential nursery. To attract her, he sways back and forth, and hovers with his abdomen raised. Mating only occurs if the females approves—making this one of the few dragonflies where females choose the males.”
I love the warm tones of this dragonfly and the way the background colors of this image complement them.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love dragonflies. These photos are brilliant. It shares God’s beauty with us in your blogosphere. Blessings and honor, Christine C Sponsler
This amberwing dragonfly is gorgeous, Mike. The detail in the photo is extraordinary, and I liked your description that they can sometimes be mistaken for wasps, as that gives a good idea of their size. Thanks for sharing this beauty with us.
Thanks, Jet. The males tend to hang out at the water and are pretty easy to spot. The females don’t have amber-colored wings and sometimes hang out in the flowers, which makes them seem even more wasp-like. Here’s a link to a posting that shows some female Eastern Amberwings. https://michaelqpowell.com/2020/07/31/particularly-photogenic-perches/
Very Nice Mike! Enjoyed seeing your Eastern Amberwing image! Usually we have a few in our yard, but so far I have not seen any this year! I am afraid our mutual association over did the spraying of pest control this year!
Here’s hoping that you see some this year. Given that dragonflies help control insects, it is a shame if overly zealous pest control causes them to disappear.
[…] year of a mature male Eastern Amberwing at the same location —it was part of a posting called Eastern Amberwing in May. Now that we have moved into summer it is quite common to see these tiny dragonflies, the smallest […]