Eastern Amberwing on lantana.

I spotted this Eastern Amberwing  (Perithemis tenera) perched on one of the flower clusters of a lantana in my neighbors Lee and Janie’s yard. You can tell this one is a male because of the wing pattern. It has a brown spot closest to the body and a red stigma bordered by a bit of yellow further out on the wing. The female would have large brown blotches on the wings.

This is one of our smallest dragonflies, with a length of only about one inch. It is a wasp mimic. The color bands on its abdomen are supposed to fool predators into thinking it is dangerous. Furthermore, it twists its body and moves in a most wasp-like fashion.