The eastern amberwing (''Perithemis tenera'') is a species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

in the family

Libellulidae The chasers, darters, skimmers, and perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest family of dragonflies. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily M ...

. It is very small, reaching a total length of no more than . The males have orange or amber wings. Both sexes have a red

pterostigma The pterostigma (plural: pterostigmata) is a group of specialized cells in the outer wings of insects, which are often thickened or coloured, and thus stand out from other cells. It is particularly noticeable in dragonflies, but present also in ...

. 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. Males have an elaborate courtship ritual. When a female approaches his territory, the male will lead her to his selected egg-laying site and hover above it with wings whirring and abdomen raised. The common name refers to its eastern range, although this dragonfly does extend westward well into the central part of the United States. The scientific name, ''tenera'', means delicate and alludes to its small size.

Gallery

Image:Eastern_Amberwing.jpg , Male
Lake Wales,

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Image:Eastern Amberwing male.jpg, Male Image:Eastern Amberwing 9268.jpg, Female File:Perithemis tenera-female ovipositing.webm, Ovipositing

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 149,540, making it the state's ...

References

External links

*
''Perithemis tenera''
on BugGuide.Net * Libellulidae Odonata of North America Insects of Canada Insects of the United States Fauna of the Eastern United States Insects described in 1840 Taxa named by Thomas Say {{Libellulidae-stub