After mating, many male damselflies hold on to the female as she deposits eggs in order to keep any rival males from interfering with the process. The male grasps the head of the female with the terminal appendages of his abdomen in the “tandem” position and the two linked damselflies move about from spot to spot as the female inserts eggs into floating vegetation.
Last Friday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge I managed to capture this image of a Slender Bluet (Enallagma traviatum) couple as the female arched her body, made a little slit in the vegetation and inserted eggs, a process known as “ovipositing.”
I am not absolutely certain I have correctly identified the damselfly species—there are a lot of bluet species—but I have made my call primarily on the basis of the markings on the abdomens of the male and the female. I intend to post this shot in a dragonfly/damselfly forum on Facebook and will update this posting if one of the experts in the group corrects my initial identification.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
This is an incredible photo, Mike. The brown background is a good contrast for the bright blue of the bluets. Ovipositing is cool.
Thanks, Jet. I had to lean out over the water to get the right angle that had both damselflies in focus and as to close to eye-to-eye with me as I could. I’re really happy with the way the composition worked out. There is just enough detail in the background and foreground to make the image a little more interesting without being distracting and, as you noted, the color with the background contrast makes the damselflies pop.
To capture this is astounding, Mike! Incredible!
Thanks. Without a telephoto or macro ens, it’s hard to see what is going on. The damselflies are each only 1.1-1.3 inches (28-32 mm) in length.
Wow! You’re welcome! Amazing!