Before the actual days of conducting observations, I usually go to potential sites for a recce. Today was no different. It was scorching as I made my way down to site 1.
As I entered the far left of the patch, there was a sudden loud buzzing sound and a dragonfly in a metallic blue hue came into view, less than a metre away. Caught by surprise, I could only marvel at its beauty. More buzzing and an abrupt dart into a stream of sunlight revealed another dragonfly – only this individual was clinging on to the first! Whoa..had the male caught the female in midair or were they already together when I bumbled into the patch?
Previous encounters with dragonflies made me aware of how skittish they can be, so it came as another surprise that these two would land on the edge of a nearby Simpoh Air leaf and not dart off. I hurriedly got out my camera, slipped off my bags, and snapped away. Dragonflies do have superb eyesight so I’m pretty sure that they knew I was there, poking my nose into their private business…
Mating pair of dragonflies (probably Brachydiplax chalybea) in the wheel position.
The blue dragonfly is the male; the female is in brown. Before actual mating, male dragonflies first need to transfer sperm from the primary copulatory apparatus, located at the 9th segment, to the secondary one, found just beneath the wings at the 2nd abdominal segment. Thereafter, they are free to mate with a female, holding on to her using abdominal claspers. If the pairing is successful, the dragonflies assume the characteristic wheel position, said to resemble a heart.
At one point, I leaned too far forward for their liking, prompting the male to take off in a slow flight deeper into the patch. Needless to say, I followed them in as quietly as possible, getting rather uncomfortably aware of being an intruder.
After taking the above few shots, I left the pair alone. If everything did go well, the eggs probably have hatched by now into water-dwelling nymphs, and after a few months, these will emerge as adult dragonflies. As larvae are aquatic, the male probably flew the female to a nearby water source to lay her eggs.
Thanks goes to Nanthinee who helped to ID the dragonflies!
Read more about odonates at the links given under the references. For amazing close-up shots of them, check out cavemanboon’s flickr photostream here.
References:
Ackerman, J. (2006). Dragonfly Mating Game. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/04/dragonfly-mating/ackerman-text/1
Dragonchaser. (2008, 5 July). Brachydiplax chalybea. Message posted to http://dragonsndamsels.blogspot.com
Marlin, B. (n.d.). Green Darner Dragonfly – Anax junuis (Drury, 1773). Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www.cirrusimage.com/dragonfly_green_darner.htm
Ramel, G. (n.d.). Dragon-flies (Odonata). Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www.earthlife.net/insects/odonata.html
