Dragonflies are unique among insects in that they mate in a circular or “wheel position.” The male dragonfly transfers sperm from its primary set of genitalia at the tip of its abdomen to the secondary set at the base of its abdomen. When the male finds a female it grasps it by the top of its head. The female then reaches the tip of her abdomen around to male’s penis. Sperm is transferred to the female’s ovipositor and the eggs are fertilized.

This can be a long process. Because the female can mate more than once, part of the time is spent while the male removes the sperm of other males with specialized organs called hamules. Only then can it be sure that it is his sperm that has fertilized the eggs.

You can often view dragonflies and damselflies flying in the wheel position or in tandem. Many species remained linked together until the female is finished laying her eggs. In others, the male hovers nearby to guard the female until she is finished. Some females lay their eggs solitarily.

Life Near Water

For most species of dragonflies in BC the life cycle takes place over the course of at least one year. Eggs are deposited directly into aquatic plants or dropped into water. Many species overwinter as larva or nymphs in ponds and marshes, emerging in the spring as adults. Others spend from two to four years in the larval stage. The life cycle is incomplete, meaning that it consists of three stages – egg, larva or nymph, and adult.

When the nymph is ready to change, or metamorphose into an adult it climbs out of the water onto a plant. Here it sheds its skin and emerges as an adult dragonfly. Adults can live for up to two months.

Below - A series of images showing the emergence of the dragonfly Leucorrhinia glacialis (Crimson-ringed Whiteface). – Photographs by Ian Lane