Mating Facts About Dragonflies

Dragonflies perform complicated mating rituals including flying in tandem during copulation.

Dragonflies have complicated courting rituals that begin with males moving the sperm along their body with their front legs. The insects often create a heart-like shape when mating as the female bends her body toward the male. Many species of dragonfly are very aggressive before and during the mating process, which can lead to injury or even death for the female.

Male Self-Copulation

The male dragonfly's testes are located behind his legs at the end of his abdomen. Near the testes are the penis and a storage pouch for sperm. Before the male dragonfly can mate, he must perform a form of self-copulation in which he uses his front legs to move the sperm from his testes to the storage pouch and then into his penis.

Mating Position

Once the male is ready to mate and finds a female, he grasps her by the head or thorax with his front legs and positions her in front of him. Once he has done this, he uses specialized clasping organs on the end of his abdomen to grasp her behind the eyes. The female's body is specially designed to receive these claspers. Once they are in position, the female curls her abdomen toward the male so that her vagina comes into contact with his penis. This curling creates a heart-like shape when the two are mating, which is often done in flight.

Aggression

Male dragonflies are often quite aggressive before and after mating. Some perform what is called "splitting," in which a male will ram a mating pair of dragonflies until they become separated; then he will mate with the female himself. Other male dragonflies fly low to the water and snatch females who are just above the water's surface laying eggs. The males will mate with the females, often causing them to drown in the process. Many male dragonflies clasp the females so tightly during mating that the female's exoskeleton is damaged.

Egg Laying

Often, male and female dragonflies remain connected after mating so that the male can protect the female from other dragonflies. Some males even remain connected to the female until she lays her eggs. Female dragonflies often lay eggs on aquatic plants, but if no suitable plant is available, they will deposit their eggs directly into the water where they eventually hatch and hunt for food.

References

• National Geographic: Dragonfly Mating Game
• Dragonfly Site: Dragonfly Life Cycle

Resources

• The Animal Communication Project: Dragonfly Mating