#3741 · 🪽 dragonflies & damselflies

Eastern Amberwing

Perithemis tenera

LCleast concern 🪽 Dragonflies & damselflies 📍 outside Europe

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Cameron Eckert · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © mayfly1963 · CC BY 4.0
3. © Jean Suplick · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Mary Keim · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
5. © Russell Pfau · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Cláudio Dias Timm · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
7. © scott_makepeace · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The eastern amberwing ( Perithemis tenera ) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is very small, reaching a total length of no more than 25 mm. The males have orange or amber wings. Both genders have a red pterostigma. 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...

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 60,461iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
60,461 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Thomas Say in 1840 (186 years ago).