2023-06-25 18:31:20
In my garden I see four species of blue damselflies, the four most numerous damselfly species in the country. My garden borders on water, that’s why. Damselflies live under water as larvae for one or two years. They are dragonflies, small dragonflies to be precise. They are not only distinguished from large dragonflies by their small size. Unlike their large second cousins, when they sit still, they do not spread their wings, but fold them up above them.
Azure damselfly, variable damselfly, water sniffle and lantern are all blue (with black). There are more blue ones, but those four can drive a damsel lover crazy.
A lantern is the least difficult to identify, with that glowing segment on the bottom. But a variable, the name says it all, can take on all kinds of blue shapes, almost completely black, so such a bright spot on the bottom should also be within the possibilities.
Females grab them by the neck
Just as bearded males can be females, damselflies can be males. Those males patrol the shore to chase away other males. Females grab them by the neck, not giving a damn regarding consent, as it is called in modern Dutch. To get rid of her attacker, the female folds her body under herself to the male, where she pushes her genitals once morest his. They can fly around for a long time in such a mating wheel.
When the deed is done, she first has to deposit eggs on the leaf of an aquatic plant. Then she loosens her abdomen and inserts it into the leaf to deposit her eggs. Her mate holds her down during the laying, because if she were to escape, another male might lick her out and refill with his own sperm. In this sperm competition, the well-being of the female seems to be of no concern. That all just happens in my garden.
Three times a week, biologist Koos Dijksterhuis writes regarding something that grows or blooms. Read his previous Nature Diaries here.
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#young #males #heard #consent
