Mike Powell

I was excited to spot this female Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) last week at Huntley Meadows Park. Male dragonflies of this species, as you might suspect from its common name, have wings that are amber in coloration, as you can see in the second photo below. Usually the males buzz around over the water at the edges of ponds and I see them quite frequently. Females, however, are most often found in vegetation until they decide that it is time to mate and I don’t see them very often.

Eastern Amberwings are one of the smallest dragonflies in my area at about one inch in length (25 mm). They are considered by some to be wasp mimics.  When they are perched, they reportedly wiggle their abdomen and wings in a wasp-like fashion to deter other animals from eating them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.