Slaty Skimmers in tandem

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Slaty Skimmers in tandem

July 21, 2021 by Mike Powell

I love elongated shadows, like those cast by this Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta) couple that I photographed earlier this month in Washington D.C. at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. The dragonflies were in the “tandem” position, with the male in the front grasping the female with the tip of his abdomen. I am always amazed that the two dragonflies are able to fly united after they have hooked up like this.

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, Libellula incesta, mating Slaty Skimmers, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, tandem position, Washington D.C. | 10 Comments

10 Responses

on July 21, 2021 at 10:43 am | Reply Suzette Benjamin

Love the shadows. Brilliant!
- on July 21, 2021 at 6:40 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Suzette.
on July 21, 2021 at 11:08 am | Reply Dan Antion

Great shadows.
- on July 21, 2021 at 6:39 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” Thanks, Dan.
  - on July 21, 2021 at 8:43 pm Dan Antion
    
    Haha
on July 21, 2021 at 11:52 am | Reply kenneturner

. . . love the shadows.
on July 21, 2021 at 6:02 pm | Reply Ellen Jennings

Wonderful capture of the dragonflies and their shadows on that rounded leaf, Mike! Nice composition with the curved bodies, curved shadows and curved leaf.

That tandem flying is pretty amazing, who drives? I was just kidding when I started typing that but now wonder, do both of them use their wings or is the female being carried, or the male? I haven’t seen it often enough to say for sure.
- on July 21, 2021 at 6:19 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ellen. I think it is mostly the male who does the flying and the female basically glides on behind, but I have never really watched with an aim of figuring that out. I will have to check that out more carefully in the future.
  - on July 21, 2021 at 7:50 pm Ellen Jennings
    
    I shall try to make a point of watching out for their system. Of course like most things dragonfly, there is probably a variety of options 🙃.
  - on July 21, 2021 at 8:58 pm Mike Powell
    
    Yeah, there is a huge variety of behaviors with different species. For example, when the female is laying the eggs, in some species, the male hangs onto the female while she is doing so; in other species, the male hovers overhead; and in some species, the male releases the female to dip into the water then immediately grabs her again.