A Damselfly Nursery

Forrest M. Mims III

Damselflies are kin to and smaller than dragonflies. One of their biggest differences is that damselflies fold their wings in an upright position while resting. Dragonflies keep their wings opened.

The eyes of dragonflies cover most of their head like a helmet. Damselfly eyes are proportionately smaller and bulge outward. Both insects are voracious eaters of mosquitoes.

Both dragonflies and damselflies spend the first part of their life as underwater creatures called naiads. When the time is right, they climb out of the water and open up to reveal a fully developed dragonfly or damselfly.

A previous column mentioned that metallic blue damselflies known as bluets have been laying eggs along the edge of the fishing pond at the Seguin Outdoor Learning Center in Seguin, Texas. This is a sight I've waited many years to see.

When I visited several weeks ago, clusters of these damselflies were laying eggs in bits of plant debris around some grass growing at the edge of the pond. I had always hoped to see just one damselfly lay eggs, but there were dozens!

Figure 1. Supported by her hovering mate (upper right), a female bluet damselfly (lower left) is depositing an egg in a water plant at the Seguin Outdoor Learning Center. Photograph by Forrest M. Mims III.

Like their cousins the dragonflies, damselfly couples have a unique relationship. For after mating occurs, the males stay around to protect their females.

This is serious business that requires the male to grab his mate by her neck using special claspers at the end of his abdomen. They stay connected like this in flight or when resting on a blade of grass.

They also remain latched together during egg laying. The male tows his mate over the water looking for a suitable place for her to deposit an egg or two. Slimy vegetation seems to be the preferred choice.

When the male finds a good site, he hovers in place while his partner folds her wings and pokes her abdomen into the soft target. Sometimes the female or both damselflies perch on watery vegetation while the female lays an egg.

After the female deposits an egg, which may take half a minute or more, the male is somehow notified of her success. He then tows her to the next egg-laying site or to a rest stop along the way.

That's the typical procedure, but there are many variations. I saw several damselfly dads who had stopped hovering and were balanced atop the heads of their mates like little blue stick figures. Fortunately, the females were able to support themselves on the same plant material into which they were ejecting their eggs.

But this was not the case with one female. Her inconsiderate male stopped flapping his wings while she was laying an egg in a water plant under the surface of the pond. The poor female was completely submerged, but she continued about her business.

One exhausted male landed on a second male for support, forcing him to lift two pairs of egg-laying couples. Another perched on the wings of a female who was laying an egg nearby.

Forrest M. Mims III and his science are featured online at www.forrestmims.org and www.sunandsky.org. "World of Science" columns are selected and sometimes revised from columns published in the San Antonio Express-News or the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. The columns are intended for a general audience.