Mating Woes - _TNY_7304
The mating of damsel- and dragonflies is a bit special. The male has a pair of claspers at the rear end of the abdomen and he uses these to grab the female by the neck before she pulls her abdomen forward to the forward end of his abdomen so they can transfer what needs to be transferred.
But since there is a possibility of another male swooping in and replacing the first guys' stuff with his own, damsel males like to hang on while the female lay her eggs (in the water).
This male (and out of focus female) were flying around in Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta Natiopnal Park, Sweden when they landed next to the Nedre Dammen pond.
Or *she* landed maybe - the guy with the impressive core strength here is still up in the air, only holding on to her neck with that clasper
The species here is known as the large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) in English, but since the small red damselfly isn't found in Sweden - we refer to it as just "röd flickslända" - red damselfly. Since there is no other red species, it is probably the easiest of all damsels and dragonflies in Sweden to identify.
Mating Woes - _TNY_7304
The mating of damsel- and dragonflies is a bit special. The male has a pair of claspers at the rear end of the abdomen and he uses these to grab the female by the neck before she pulls her abdomen forward to the forward end of his abdomen so they can transfer what needs to be transferred.
But since there is a possibility of another male swooping in and replacing the first guys' stuff with his own, damsel males like to hang on while the female lay her eggs (in the water).
This male (and out of focus female) were flying around in Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta Natiopnal Park, Sweden when they landed next to the Nedre Dammen pond.
Or *she* landed maybe - the guy with the impressive core strength here is still up in the air, only holding on to her neck with that clasper
The species here is known as the large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) in English, but since the small red damselfly isn't found in Sweden - we refer to it as just "röd flickslända" - red damselfly. Since there is no other red species, it is probably the easiest of all damsels and dragonflies in Sweden to identify.