Eastern Amberwing

Perithemis tenera · Dragonflies & damselflies

Eastern Amberwing, perched

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 26 July 2026

A female Eastern Amberwing settled on a burnet spike with the wings dropped forward, in the July border at the Botanic Garden. At barely an inch long it is one of the smallest dragonflies in North America, a species of ponds and gardens across the East, and easy to take for a wasp until it flies.

The male's wings are solid amber; hers are clear with brown blotches, and the short, stout body banded in brown and yellow is the wasp mimicry the species is known for. The maroon flowerheads it is gripping are great burnet, which smells faintly of cucumber when crushed - nothing to do with the dragonfly, but a reliable way to confirm the plant in the field.

Eastern Amberwing in flight

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 26 July 2026

An Eastern Amberwing in the air in the July border, banking away from a stand of burnet spikes. Amberwings are dragonflies of ponds and slow water across the eastern United States, one of the smallest in North America, and they perch more than they patrol.

They use a favourite stem as a lookout between short sallies after passing insects and return to more or less the same spot each time, which makes them more cooperative subjects than dragonflies that hold a long beat over open water. A wasp mimic: the amber wings and banded body, and a habit of pumping the abdomen at rest, fool most predators.

Eastern Amberwing, female

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 12 July 2026

A female Eastern Amberwing perched high on an ironweed bud in the July border, legs braced forward in the hunting posture that lets it sally out after passing insects and return to the same stem. A midsummer dragonfly of ponds and gardens across the eastern United States, on the wing from June into September.

Clear wings with brown blotches rather than the male's solid amber, and the small, stout, brown-and-yellow body that passes for a wasp at a glance - the mimicry the species is known for.

Eastern Amberwing, female

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 26 July 2025

A female Eastern Amberwing perched on the very tip of a stem in the July border, wings dropped forward - not the meadowhawk it was first written up as. Amberwings are dragonflies of ponds and slow water across the eastern United States, and one of the smallest in North America at barely an inch long.

Built to pass for a wasp: a short, stout abdomen banded in brown and yellow, wings marked with brown patches rather than the solid amber of the male, and pale spots along the thorax. It is easy to take for a wasp until it flies. The mimicry is thought to work on birds rather than on anything the amberwing hunts; a dragonfly this small is prey as often as predator.