Male Eastern Amberwing dragonflies (Perithemis tenera) are really easy to identify, because their wings are amber-colored. However, when they first emerge and are in a stage known as “teneral,” their wings are clear and shiny, like those of this Eastern Amberwing that I spotted yesterday at the edge of the pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.
For comparison purposes, I have included a shot from earlier this 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 dragonflies in our area at about one inch (25 mm) in length, though I had never before seen a teneral male of this species.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Sometimes names don’t make sense to me, but ‘amberwing’ certainly does. It’s as close to a shade of true amber as you could get.
I agree with you about the abundance of confusing names. Amberwing makes sense for the traditional color of amber. However, on an overseas trip to the Baltic countries several years ago, I was surprised to learn that natural amber comes in a variety of shades and can also be red, orange, white, and even green in addition to the more traditional yellow-brown.
That’s true, although the ambers I found in West Africa ranged from caramel to honey to molasses. There was some orange, but no red, white, or green.
I don’t know if it was a problem in West Africa, but I remember that we were warned about the quantity of fake amber that was being passed off as the real thing. (I was not really into purchasing amber, but several of the ladies that I was with bought some really beautiful jewelry pieces.)
Great captures Mike