Dragonflies and damselflies have rather limited lifespans after they emerge from the water and are transformed from aquatic nymphs into aerial acrobats. One of their biological imperatives is to perpetuate their species, so it is not unusual to see mating activity during this time of the year that is primetime for dragonflies and damselflies.
On a trip earlier this month to Occoquan Regional Park, I spotted this pair of Ebony Jewelwing damselflies (Calopteryx maculata) in their distinctive sidewards-heart mating position. I am really happy with this image because I was able to use my shooting angle and camera settings to keep the bodies of both damselflies in focus and achieve a blurry background that allows a viewer to focus on the damselflies without any visual distractions.
In case you are curious, the damselfly to the left is the female and the one with the shiny green body is the male. You can tell the genders from the mating position and from the little white patch on the wings that is present on female Ebony Jewelwings and not on the completely dark wings of the males
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great shot, Mike!
Awesome shot 👌👌👌
They appear elegant in their mating.
I totally agree, Robert, though I must confess that I feel a little bit like a voyeur when I am taking shots like this. 🙂
Great shot Michael, I’m a scientist and I’d be interested in reproducing this picture for a sceintific book, mentioning authorship. Can I apply to obtain your authorization? Thank you in advance. Salvatore
You are welcome to use the image in a scientific book, preferably with attribution to me as the photographer. Cheers, Mike
Thanks a lot Michael. Sure I will. And, if you can read Italian, I will be glad to send you a copy.
I am pretty fluent in French (and spent a year of university studying in Paris quite a few years ago), so I might be able to understand some parts of the publication. It might be interesting to see what you are writing about–if you looked much through my blog, you undoubtedly noticed that dragonflies and damselflies are my favorite subjects to photograph.