Eastern Amberwing

About the Eastern Amberwing

The Eastern Amberwing is one of the smallest dragonflies in North America - barely an inch long - but the male's glowing amber wings make it look like a drop of honey hovering over the pond. Females carry clear wings with dark spots and a chunky, banded body.

That wasp-like banding is no accident: the Eastern Amberwing is a rare dragonfly wasp mimic, and perched individuals even pump their abdomens the way a wasp does, discouraging birds from a closer look. Males spend the day making short patrol flights low over the water, defending sunny territories along the shoreline and perching on emergent stems between sorties.

In Texas, Eastern Amberwings are common from spring through fall on ponds, lake edges, and slow streams across most of the state - tiny, confiding, and happy to return to the same perch again and again, which makes them a favorite subject for close-up work.