A Pair of Common Green Darners Ovipositing (Laying Eggs) in Tandem, 4/6/2021 Common Green Darners Now Reproducing Tuesday April 6 was the first day this year I observed female common green darners at the wetland, the males having arrived on March 22. The photo above shows a male (green and blue) holding onto a female as she lays eggs inside submerged plant stems. This is called the tandem position, like a tandem bicycle, and takes place before mating and in some species, as above, after mating while the male accompanies the female as she lays her eggs. This is one form of mate guarding behavior practiced by many dragonfly species. By keeping ahold of the female while she is laying eggs, the male assures that another male will not mate with her and in so doing displace his sperm. As you can see in the photo below, he will continue to hold onto her as they fly to another location to deposit eggs. Mating is very competitive for many dragonfly species and tandem pairs l...
Comments
Post a Comment