View allAll Photos Tagged copulating
Species: Aeshna juncea.
This position during copulation, known as the "mating wheel" because the couple forms a closed circle with their jointed bodies, some dragonflies will mate in flight, while others will retire to a nearby perch to consummate their relationship. They rarely settle and can be difficult to approach.
Pair of bright coloured and elongate insects in the family Syrphidae, in cop with detail of genitalia
First she´s calling, afterwards they´re sitting together for a while, preening. Then he moves on.
At the nest near by still is a lot of work to do, renovating.
Same video in normal size on Youtube:
Erst ruft sie, hinterher sitzen sie noch eine Weile beisammen und putzen sich. Dann fliegt er weiter.
Am nahen Horst muss noch ganz schön renoviert werden.
Selbes Video in normaler Grösse auf Youtube:
White checking one of my local White-letter hairstreak locations i noticed there were also many Purple Hairstreaks also flitting about the tree. Suddenly these two came tumbling to the floor and luckily landed in a good spot for a photograph amongst the tall grasses.
Apparently, the need to procreate has taken hold of these tiny syrphids as it seemed coupled pairs were all over the garden today. Andover, NJ
At first I didn't realize that there were two of them. They were intent on their task and ignored the bees that came within grabbing range, as well as the nosy photographer. Jagged Ambush Bugs on Mountain Mint
Plateau des Gras, Bidon, Ardèche, France
Family : Nymphalidae
Subfamily : Nymphalinae
Species : Melitaea cinxia
A widespread and common species throughout most of Europe. In the UK however, there are only a handful of sites in the south of the country where this beautiful butterfly can be found. It is also found in parts of North Africa, the Near East, and Central Asia. Throughout a large part of its range there is just one generation per year but in the warmer regions this can increase to two. Mating is usually a prolonged affair and the female continues to feed while copulation is taking place. They are avid nectar feeders on a variety of flowers. She then lays her eggs in batches of up to 200 on the underside of a leaf on the larval foodplant. The resulting caterpillars overwinter and then start feeding again the following Spring before pupating.
The Glanville Fritillary is found in a wide range of habitats including woodland glades, sub-alpine meadows, field edges, and open grassland. It is a medium sized butterfly with a wingspan of 41-47mm. It is a sun-loving species and like most fritillaries it can be difficult to follow as it flies fast and close to the ground. I have found that they don't usually fly very far and so you can easily find them again. A wide range of larval foodplants are used in Europe, including various Plantago sp., Centaurea sp., and Veronica sp. .
All my insect pics are single, handheld shots of live insects in wild situations.
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I saw one bird leave this tree and decided to wait to see if it would return. An hour or so later I was just walking to my car when it did. (Of course I missed the return flight.) Not wanting to make the same mistake twice I waited, and waited, etc. It paid off. I think they are going to name me the chick's god parent as they certainly seemed to accept me into the family!
Damselfies / Caballitos del diablo
1/320, F/5,6, ISO 100, Flash a -2
En la época del apareamiento los caballitos del diablo hacen gimnasia colgados de los tallos de la vegetación. Los machos agarran a las hembras detrás de la cabeza con sus pinzas del final del abdomen mientras las hembras acercan el final de su abdomen al lugar donde el macho ha transferido su esperma y lo recogen. Luego volarán, generalmente manteniendo a la hembra agarrada, a poner sus huevos en una laguna cercana donde se desarrollarán hasta que llegue el momento de emerger y convertirse en adultos.
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During the mating season, the damselflies do gymnastics hanging from the stems of the vegetation. The males grasp the females behind the head with their claws at the end of the abdomen while the females bring the end of their abdomen closer to where the male has transferred his sperm and collect it. They will then fly off, usually holding onto the female, to lay their eggs in a nearby lagoon where they will develop until it is time to emerge and become adults.
Butterflies making.................... LOVE!
not ..............................................War!
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Siam Reap, Cambodia
Photography’s new conscience
The Netherlands - Westzaan
Along with the hours-long copulations, the reproductive lifespan of Blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans - Lantaarntje) is only a few weeks. Cooperation from both males and females is required for copulation and females have the ability to reject sperm transfer from unwanted mating attempts. A tandem formation is created by males through the clasping of the female pronotum. © Tom Kisjes
A couple of Soldier Beetles (order: Coleoptera, family: Cantharidae), mating.
UPDATE: they were identified as Rhagonycha nigritarsis by Robert Constantin. Robert said "It is Rhagonycha nigritarsis Brullé, a vicariant species of Rhagonycha fulva, differing by the greater size, the brown tarsi, the more elongate pronotum which can turn to reddish brown as on one specimen here. It's distributed in Greece and its islands."
After copulating, the owls flew a short distance to a different branch and spent time nuzzling and grooming each other. That is the female on the left, larger and slightly more rufous. The smaller, greyer male is on the right.
It was a magical scene to watch through the lens, I took picture after picture with the camera set to quiet shutter mode. As the owls were moving a fair bit, and the depth of field was very narrow, it was tricky to get an eye contact / in focus image.
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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Incecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Lestidae
Genus: Lestes
Species: dryas
It is also known by the names emerald spreadwing, & robust spreadwing.
Scarce Emerald Damselfly (Lestes dryas) - Canvey Way Ditch, Canvey Way, Canvey Island, Essex
Definitely not the sharpest photo I've ever taken, but I'm happy to have captured this (very) brief and awesome moment... Two White-tailed Kites in love!
White-tailed Kite | Elanus leucurus
Resaca de la Palma State Park.
Brownsville, Texas
Flesh Flies - (Sarcophaga carnaria) Two copulating flesh flies. 2,000 known species in the family Sarcophagidae
Columbia Children's Arboretum, NE Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon (July 4th, 2021). 41a. Suburban arboretum and park.
Pair in copula on a phragmites leaf at the edge of a narrow slough.
Blue Dasher copulation (and that of many other dragonflies) takes the visually striking form illustrated by the photograph. In both sexes the gamete producing organs are near the tip of the abdomen (9th segment) but prior to copulation the male transfers his sperm to a “seminal vesicle” located far forward along the abdomen on the 2nd segment near the junction with the thorax. The process culminates when the male grasps the female’s head with hooks at the tip of his abdomen and bends her abdomen forward to bring its tip in apposition to the seminal vesicle as per the photo. It is at this point that the sperm are transferred from the male’s reproductive tract to the female’s. [If the male encounters sperm from another male already in the female"s reproductive tract during this process, he scrapes it out first before depositing his own.]
Another Blue Dasher in-copula shot--
www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/48181918921/in/photostream/
More odonate photos--
The frame before copulation began. He had been perched beside her, and as soon as she started calling he approached by the shortest possible route, landing on her back.
Australian (nankeen) kestrels, Callum Brae, Australian Capital Territory, August 2011.
Copulating Lapwings Vanellus vanellus in Alver, Norway May 2023. This couple incubated a four egg clutch in April, but was not successful. Now they are giving a second attempt a go. Such efforts from the birds are important for this critically endangered species to survive in Norway.
#C4A1152
Post copulation shot. The 4 times have seen him mate, 3 times he did the same thing after, circle around the female a couple of times and then fly across 200 yards towards the rock face and then dart along straight past me. A celebration flight ? 😄
A pair of "Sympetrum striolatum" copulate at the RSPB site at Byall Fen, Coveney, Cambridgeshire, UK.
J'ai pu voir, à plusieurs reprises ces petits hyménoptères céphides, très excités, s'accouplant ou cherchant à s'accoupler, sur des fleurs de renoncules (Ranunculus).
I have see, several times these little Cephid hymenoptera, very excited mating or seeking to do it on buttercup flowers (Ranunculus).
long hoverfly
Gewöhnliche Langbauchschwebfliege
[Sphaerophoria scripta]
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Sailor Bar, American River Parkway / Sacramento County, California
I only had my 80-400 mm lens with me when I saw this pair of damsels copulating so I gave it my best shot and, I must admit, I'm very pleased with the result.
With it already well into the incubation portion of the breeding season, the naturalists and researchers with us explained that this young couple were most likely "practicing" copulation which I assume means they will breed next season (and which I also found very endearing); Neko Harbor, Antarctica.
"Incubation Exchange"
NEW JERSEY 2017 BALD EAGLE PROJECT REPORT
ANOTHER PRODUCTIVE YEAR FOR NJ’S EAGLES
by Larissa Smith, CWF Wildlife Biologist
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ in partnership with the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program has released the 2017 NJ Bald Eagle Project Report. In 2017, 178 eagle nests were monitored during the nesting season. Of these nests 153 were active (with eggs) and 25 were territorial or housekeeping pairs. One hundred and ninety young were fledged.
In 2017 the number of active nests was three more than in 2016, but the number young fledged decreased by 27 from a record high of 216 fledged in 2016. The productivity rate this season of 1.25 young/active nest is still above the required range of 0.0 to 1.1 for population maintenance. Productivity could be lower this season for many reasons including weather, predation and disturbance to the nesting area. In 2017 nest monitors reported several instances of “intruder” eagles at nests which did disrupt the nesting attempts of several pairs. One of these “eagle dramas” unfolded at the Duke Farms eagle cam watched by millions of people. An intruder female attempted to replace the current female. This harassment interrupted the pairs bonding and copulation and no eggs were laid.
This year’s report includes a section on Resightings of banded eagles. Resightings of NJ (green) banded eagles have increased over the years, as well as eagles seen in NJ that were banded in other states. These resightings are important, as they help us to understand eagle movements during the years between fledging and settling into a territory, as well as adult birds at a nest site.
For more info: www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/2017/12/06/new-jersey-201...
New Jersey Bald Eagle Project Report | 2017 may be downloaded here: www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/eglrpt17.pdf