My alternate title was Unprotected Sex but that seemed a little too much like link bait.
With cooler weather there hadn’t been as many insects around the pond. But this day was warmer and the dragonflies were out in force. Dozens of one kind (some kind of meadowhawk?) were mating over and on the grass beside the water. Perhaps the eggs or the aquatic larvae would be the ones to overwinter.
I think the red ones are the males. They grab onto the female's head with claspers on the end of their abdomen. Then the female bends her abdomen forward and receives sperm from the male.
I noticed what looked like three dragonflies struggling in the grass but I didn’t pay much attention. I took this next photo but I couldn't really tell what was going on. I just thought it was mating battles.
It's not a great photo, but you can see there are actually two wasps and two mating dragonflies.
The activity lasted longer than the fast pace of the rest so I looked closer and realized it was a Bald-faced hornet killing a dragonfly, presumably taking advantage of the vulnerable mating dragonflies. (Bald-faced hornets aren't really hornets - they're related to yellowjacket wasps)
By the time I realized what was going on the dragonfly was dead. (And there was only one hornet and one dragonfly left.)
The hornet was trying to carry it away but it was too heavy and awkward. It solved the problem in short order, biting off the dragonfly’s oversized head. That did the trick and it flew away with the remainder.
And it wasn’t the only hornet taking advantage of the orgy. I saw another one fly off with its prey.
I’m not sure what the were doing with them. Just carrying them somewhere out of the way to eat them? Or taking them to feed their larvae?
With cooler weather there hadn’t been as many insects around the pond. But this day was warmer and the dragonflies were out in force. Dozens of one kind (some kind of meadowhawk?) were mating over and on the grass beside the water. Perhaps the eggs or the aquatic larvae would be the ones to overwinter.
I think the red ones are the males. They grab onto the female's head with claspers on the end of their abdomen. Then the female bends her abdomen forward and receives sperm from the male.
I noticed what looked like three dragonflies struggling in the grass but I didn’t pay much attention. I took this next photo but I couldn't really tell what was going on. I just thought it was mating battles.
It's not a great photo, but you can see there are actually two wasps and two mating dragonflies.
The activity lasted longer than the fast pace of the rest so I looked closer and realized it was a Bald-faced hornet killing a dragonfly, presumably taking advantage of the vulnerable mating dragonflies. (Bald-faced hornets aren't really hornets - they're related to yellowjacket wasps)
By the time I realized what was going on the dragonfly was dead. (And there was only one hornet and one dragonfly left.)
The hornet was trying to carry it away but it was too heavy and awkward. It solved the problem in short order, biting off the dragonfly’s oversized head. That did the trick and it flew away with the remainder.
And it wasn’t the only hornet taking advantage of the orgy. I saw another one fly off with its prey.
I’m not sure what the were doing with them. Just carrying them somewhere out of the way to eat them? Or taking them to feed their larvae?
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