It is pretty early in the season for Common Whitetail dragonflies (Plathemis lydia), but one pair was already getting busy last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I did not see the actual mating taking place, but I captured this first shot as the female deposited eggs in the water as the male hovered overhead. The second image is a distant shot of the hovering male Common Whitetail.
Different dragonfly species deposit their fertilized eggs in different ways. Some will place the eggs directly into vegetation, while others distribute their eggs more generally into the water. Female Common Whitetails are in the latter group—they oviposit in flight, with guarding male hovering above, by tapping their abdomen into the water near floating vegetation or clumps of mud and often flicking water and eggs forward. According to
If you look closely at the first photo, you can see some concentric ripples where the dragonfly has dipped the tip of her abdomen in the water, releasing some eggs and creating some disturbance on the surface of the water. The male’s job is to fight off any potential rivals that might try to interfere with the process and mate with the female.
The eggs will develop into larvae that will spend most of their lives underwater. The adult phase of their lives, when they transform into dragonflies, may last only a few weeks or so, which is why perpetuation of the species through mating is such a critical biological imperative.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 