Ancient evolutionery terms,dragonflies,in the order of Odonata , were among the first insects to fly.Fitted with two sets of lacy wings and brilliantly coloured bodies,they flit and hover over ponds and streams.At mating time,they couple either while airborne or perched on a plant stem.
Some spend a few seconds,others several hours,in the air mating in a wheel position.with the female hanging upside down from the male's abdomen.Often after a female's eggs have been fertilized,the male continous fly with her until the eggs are deposited,which guards against mating attempts by other males.Eggs hatch into aquatic larvae,which may take as long as five years to mature.
Mating of dragonflies begins when a male flies over an airborne female and grasps her with his legs.
A male's claspers operate like pliers.In some species,females have indentations behind the head that help hold claspers in place.
In a skilled aerial manoeuvre,the male takes the female by the neck with his tail claspers and unloosens his legs.The pair move along together.
Having previously filled a genital pouch at the front of his abdomen with sperm from reproductive organs at the tip of his tail,the male steers the female to a suitable spot for mating at the pond's edge.
Having obtained from the male's pouch a store of sperm,which fertilizes the eggs she holds in an egg sac,the female disengages to lay her eggs under the pond's surface.Meanwhile ,the hovering male may mate with other female nearby.
While the male holds on to a blade of grass,The female wraps her legs around him and bends her abdomen to touch his sperm-filled pouch.
The male may remain attached to the mated female.while she releases her eggs into the water.
A female goes on alone after mating poking her tail into deposit the eggs.
Diving underwater the pair cling to a plant where the female affixes her eggs.
Some spend a few seconds,others several hours,in the air mating in a wheel position.with the female hanging upside down from the male's abdomen.Often after a female's eggs have been fertilized,the male continous fly with her until the eggs are deposited,which guards against mating attempts by other males.Eggs hatch into aquatic larvae,which may take as long as five years to mature.
Mating of dragonflies begins when a male flies over an airborne female and grasps her with his legs.
A male's claspers operate like pliers.In some species,females have indentations behind the head that help hold claspers in place.
In a skilled aerial manoeuvre,the male takes the female by the neck with his tail claspers and unloosens his legs.The pair move along together.
Having previously filled a genital pouch at the front of his abdomen with sperm from reproductive organs at the tip of his tail,the male steers the female to a suitable spot for mating at the pond's edge.
Having obtained from the male's pouch a store of sperm,which fertilizes the eggs she holds in an egg sac,the female disengages to lay her eggs under the pond's surface.Meanwhile ,the hovering male may mate with other female nearby.
While the male holds on to a blade of grass,The female wraps her legs around him and bends her abdomen to touch his sperm-filled pouch.
The male may remain attached to the mated female.while she releases her eggs into the water.
A female goes on alone after mating poking her tail into deposit the eggs.
Diving underwater the pair cling to a plant where the female affixes her eggs.
