Eastern Amberwing
Perithemis tenera (male)

This majestic male reminded me of the fairies we hear stories of as kids. He’s also an amazingly swift and agile predator! As if photographing him wasn’t delightful enough, he spent the early afternoon clearing our airspace of pesky flies and mosquitoes. I’d hear a buzzing sound near my ear, and a split second later, after he left his perch, the sound was gone. When it happend a second time, I realized he was eating whatever little insects were buzzing me. How’s that for bug repellant?

Photographed on July 2, 2011.

Nikon D90 (on tripod)
Tamron 90mm macro
ISO 100
f/8
1/400 sec