Mating Damselflies
Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Do you really need an explanation?
ET
Columbia, MD

Ebony Jewelwings Mating

Dear ET,
Your photo of mating Ebony Jewelwings, Calopteryx maculata, is gorgeous, and we thought our readers would probably like additional information.  The male has the darker wings and the female has the white spot on the wings.  BugGuide has additional information on this eastern North American species, including “Not a strong flier: adults flutter, butterfly-like, a short distance when disturbed. They are easy to get close to as long as you approach slowly and don’t make any sudden movements. Ebony Jewelwings prefer sunny spots in the woods but usually perch only a minute or two before flitting to another nearby spot.”  BugGuide has sadly shied away from discussing the sexual behavior of the species.  We decided to try to include some of that and located a German site that explained  “The male sex organ is located at the front part of the abdomen. Damselflies commonly fly in pairs during mating. Damselfly adults use their hind legs, which are covered with hairs to capture prey as they fly. They hold the prey in their legs and devour it by chewing. Adults are usually found flying near plants, usually in irrigated rice fields during the daytime throughout the year. The damselfly’s mating pattern is unusual. The male deposits sperm by bending the abdomen forward and then clasping the female behind the head with its claspers on the tip of his abdomen. The female then loops her abdomen forward and picks up the sperm from the male. The mating pairs are seen flying and clinging in tandem. “  And finally, just to shake things up a bit, we located a National Geographic online article entitled Damselfly Mating Game Turns Some Males Gay by James Owen. Owen writes:  “Disguises used by female damselflies to avoid unwanted sexual advances can cause males to seek out their own sex, a new study suggests. Belgian researchers investigated why male damselflies often try to mate with each other. The scientists say the reason could lie with females that adopt a range of appearances to throw potential mates off their scent. In an evolutionary battle of the sexes, males become attracted to a range of different looks, with some actually preferring a more masculine appearance. “  Later in the article, this is nicely explained.  Owen continues with the following conclusions of the Belgian team:  “Van Gossum, the study author, says most researchers agree such polymorphism most likely results from sexual conflict, with females evolving traits to avoid excessive harassment. While plenty of sex might suit male damselflies, this isn’t the case for females. Joan Roughgarden is a professor of biological sciences at Stanford University in California. She writes, ‘Copulation ranges from over one hour to over six hours, averaging three hours. While a long copulation might seem like great fun, this can waste a whole day and be too much of a good thing, especially if carried out day after day over a life span that is only a few days long.  Roughgarden adds that female damselflies collect all the sperm they need to reproduce from a single mating.”  Some of our readers will be comforted to know that the image that you submitted depicts a traditional male/female coupling.

A skeeter hawk 4 U
Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 7:37 PM
Hey Dan,
What do you call this creature when it is not flying ? — A ‘dragon’ ?
Ferd Hall

Common Whitetail

Hi Ferd,
Since Dragonfly is not two words, it would not be likely that anyone would call a stationary specimen a dragon, but we do like the colloquialism Skeeter Hawk since Dragonflies prey on Mosquitoes. Some people call Crane Flies by the name Mosquito Hawk, but that is not at all accurate. Though Dragonfly identification is something we prefer to leave to those more proficient with the order Odonata, we are relatively certain your distinctively marked specimen is a male Common Whitetail, Plathemis lydia. It sure is a stunning photograph and it matches an image posted on BugGuide. Since you are a longtime reader of our site, you did not use our new form, and your query did not contain a sighting location, a new feature that we really like since our site migration last September.

Dragonfly Some kind of Meadowhawk?
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Can you help me identify what kind of Meadowhawk dragonfly this is. I found this one late July, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Jeanne
Richfield, Hennepin Cty., MN, USA

Meadowhawk

Dear Jeanne,
We have often mentioned that the exact identification of Dragonflies and Damselflies is not our strongest area, but just yesterday, Renaud Bernhard of Switzerland was kind enough to write to us and provide corrections to many of our unidentified or misidentified postings. We will post your letter and photo and hopefully Renaud can provide you with a correct answer.

Meadowhawk

Update: Monday, February 23, 2009
Hi Daniel,
That one is tricky. There are three north american meadhowhawks species with female that are troublesome to ID
without close examination, all three shows those black triangles on the side of the abdomen and more or less extended
amber patches on the wings: Cherry-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum), Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum rubicundulum) and
White-faced Meadowhawk (Symeptrum obtrusum). There I would say Ruby Meadowhawk but that’s only because the guide I have
says that female of it can have as much extended yellow patch on the wings.
I’m just an amateur wildlife lurker but I’m fascinated with dragonflies-damselfies so I have collected a few
identification guides.
Renaud Bernhard

pink dragonfly
Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 2:55 PM
his beauty is from my trip to Hong Kong in August. I have never seen one this color and thought I would share it with you for the upcoming holiday season…even though it is hot pink.
polymersn
hong kong

Trithemis aurora

Dear polymersn,
Magenta is quite an unusual color in the insect world. Certain katydids have this bright jarring coloration, but they are color sports and not typical. We have never seen such color in a Dragonfly, but a google search for “pink dragonfly hong kong” turned up a matching image on Flicker identified as Trithemis aurora. The TrekNature website has information on the species, but the image is not of a brightly colored individual. There is also online reference to the common name Dawn Dropwing or Crimson Dropwing. We visited numerous websites while trying to gather information on the Dawn Dropwing, and there are many photographs posted online, but your photo is, in our critical estimation, the loveliest we encountered.

Occisa Rubyspot (Hetaerina – Part 2)
Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 6:14 PM
To follow-up my previous post of the American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana), I am submitting these photos of a male and female Occisa Rubyspot (H. occisa). There are at least 37 Hetaerina species in the Americas, all but 3 of which are limited to Central and South America.  These photos were taken in 2007 while canoeing on the Macal River in western Belize. Cheers.
Karl

Occisa Rubyspot Damselfly Male

Hi Karl,
Once again, thanks for a wonderful decription and photos of a Central American relative of the American Rubyspot Damselfly.

Occisa Rubyspot Damselfly Female

water creatures
I found these two water creatures in a creek. It looks like they may besome stage of a dragonfly or damsel fly. I don’t know? What do youthink they are. The small one is about 1/2 inch long and the larger oneis about an inch
Ryan

Naiads

Hi Ryan,
The larger creature is most definitely a Damselfly Naiad, but the smaller creature is questionable. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to supply an answer.