Most of the Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum ambiguum) yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park were perched alone in the bright sunlight, but some of them managed to find mates and were “getting busy.” No matter how many times I have seen this behavior, I continue to be amazed by the unusual and acrobatic method that dragonflies use when mating.
I usually start to see the brightly-colored Blue-faced Meadowhawks in early September, at a time when the overall number of dragonflies is declining and they are one of the signs for me of the end of the summer. This species seems to be generally tolerant of my presence, although some individuals are quite skittish, and I have managed to get some close-up shots of them in the past.
Don’t be surprised to see more photos of the Blue-faced Meadowhawks in upcoming weeks—they are one of my favorite species of dragonflies.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
The colors in this picture are amazing. But I’m not sure I can take such raw sex this early in the morning.
Sally Morris swmorris3@aol.com
I love your comment, Sally. It’s difficult for me not to feel like a voyeur when shooting and posting photos like this one, which could probably be featured in the insect version of the Kama Sutra. 🙂
We nature photographers can talk till we’re blue in the face about the wonders we find out there. I hope you didn’t get red in the face pursuing this mating pair of dragonflies.
It’s hard not to feel a little bit like a peeping Tom in situations like this. I suppose that I could have titled the posting “Red-faced Photographer,” but “Blue-faced Mating” is a bit more suggestive and might prompt some readers to read the posting. As advertisers know well, sex sells.
Catchy title, indeed, Mike. You’re so right about the acrobatics. Have you seen them paired up and in flight? Now, that’s a feat that’s hard to match!
I was wondering if anyone would comment on the title, Gary, and I am not surprised that you did. I started off with the straightforward and descriptive title of “Blue-faced Meadowhawk Dragonflies Mating” and then started deleting words. The final title is a bit suggestive and might prompt folks to read the posting. When I initially spotted the pair, they were hooked up and flying together–I am not sure how they manage that from an aeronautical perspective.