Mating dragonflies

A brief walk around Risley Moss this morning. Another sunny, hot day.

I took a few photos of common red darters, and on returning home had a look at my dragonfly field guide to remind myself of what is going on.

Dragonflies mate in a unique way, the process involves the males and female adopting what is called “the wheel” position. This involves the male (the one with the red abdomen in this species) clasping the back of the females head with pincers at the end of his body. He also moves sperm from his primary sexual organs at one end of the abdomen to secondary organs at the other. This then allows her (if she wants to do so) to lock onto him with the organs at the end of her body. No courtship is involved, the females enter male territories and make their choice. The males have organs which can spoon out the sperm of other males so theirs has no competition. Once the joined couple lands the process takes a little time, so with a little stealth they can be photographed.