Thursday 19 August 2010

Mating Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)


I pictured these mating damselflies at the weekend which I believe are Common emeralds, please feel free to leave a comment if I have this wrong.

Dragonflies have a unique way of copulating for which the males have specialised secondary genitalia, they have indirectt insemination and delayed fertilisation. The males sperm is passed from the abdomen tip to the secondary genitalia where it is passed onto the female.

 On closer inspection the tip of the abdomen tip seems to be seen under the thorax of the higher damselfly or am I getting carried away?

7 comments:

Chris said...

Wow what a catch. Well done Mike, this is not gonna happen to me over here ;-)

Anonymous said...

Great set of Dragons and damsels Mike, especially the Black Darter.

Mike Randall Bird Photography said...

Thanks very much Chris & Roy. My first dragons and damsels this season.
Regards
Mike

Dominic Gendron said...

Very nice images. Nice comportemental shot!

Mike Randall Bird Photography said...

Thanks very much Dominic

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Looks like they formed a heart in this series. Great catch~

Trent R said...

Great blog you have heere