Dragonfly behavior (2 Viewers)

[Sydsmythe]

I've got a question about a dragonfly I found here in South Florida. I believe it's a green darner.

In any case, he was on the grass with a bunch of other insects who looked to be dying as the homeowner just had his lawn sprayed. The dragonfly was being eyed by a large lizard, and since he was still alive, I didn't want him to be eaten that way!

The dragonfly didn't looked injured but couldn't fly. He readily crawled onto my finger.He rode around in my mail truck with me..lol...and eventually got him home. I don't know what i expected-except to put him in a shadowbox I guess. He is so beautiful.

I was amazed at how he flexed his tail. Sometimes it was like an inchworm, sometimes turned under a bit. I got the impression it might be in pain, and I felt a bit awful, but still had hope for some dragonfly miracle. Of course that didn't happen.

My question is- why the tail flexing? I can't find much info on that, except that it's the digestive and repro system there. I just didn't want the lovely thing eaten alive by that lizard. maybe that was wrong of me

 

[Odonate]

I guess that it could be some sort of spasm if there were pesticides involved. Alternatively, an attempt at sperm transfer (if it was a male). As Odonata have secondary male genitalia, they need to transfer sperm to that. Another possibility is something I have seen occasionally after releasing Odonata that I have caught. Sometimes they flex the abdomen upwards (see below - Erytromma lindenii) although I have never really understood why.

O

 

[Sydsmythe]

Thank you. His color is gone now as I didn't preserve him in time, but it was a male.

There were swarms of them in the area and I noticed a few in the mating wheel I think-or at least attempting it! So it could be that it was his time for that. And I didn't know they had such a short life expectancy as full grown dragonflies.

I had to move him off the mail in my truck a few times . He certainly preferred just sitting on my finger!

 

[RoyW]

I can't offer any further suggestions for the original observation (it's the sort of thing that probably needs to be witnessed before it is possible to do any more than quess at what is going on - and even then it may not be possible to say!).


I am able to offer an explaination for Odonate observation though:

Another possibility is something I have seen occasionally after releasing Odonata that I have caught. Sometimes they flex the abdomen upwards (see below - Erytromma lindenii) although I have never really understood why.

This behaviour, which I'm guessing you have seen in damselflies rather than true dragonflies (Anisoptera), is an attempt to clean the wings and remove whatever you have deposited on the wings while handling the insect (sweat etc). The abdomen is passed between the wings and rubbed against them, and you will occasionally see the damselfly later flex it's abdomen underneath the body and clean the abdomen by pulling in through the legs (this is often seen if you watch a damselfly clean itself after release from a spiders web - first remove the web from the wings with the abdomen, then remove the web from the abdomen with the legs).

 

[Sydsmythe]

Hmm. Perhaps my dragonfly was trying to clean himself. I had him in a large plastic salad container (so glad I brought a salad for lunch so I had a safe way to transport him) and so he was flat, not perched, and could only bend in limited ways. And yes, I did punch holes in the cover and remove it when I got home

I'm just still amazed at how readily he crawled onto my finger. The others that accidentally fly into my mail truck are ,of course, in a panic.

I'm going to assume it's because it was the most convenient thing resembling a perch. Of course I want to think he was friendly lol.

 

[Odonate]

I am able to offer an explaination for Odonate observation though:

This behaviour, which I'm guessing you have seen in damselflies rather than true dragonflies (Anisoptera), is an attempt to clean the wings and remove whatever you have deposited on the wings while handling the insect (sweat etc). The abdomen is passed between the wings and rubbed against them, and you will occasionally see the damselfly later flex it's abdomen underneath the body and clean the abdomen by pulling in through the legs (this is often seen if you watch a damselfly clean itself after release from a spiders web - first remove the web from the wings with the abdomen, then remove the web from the abdomen with the legs).

Correct, I have only noted it in Zygoptera and thinking about it, more commonly in warm areas where I may have had more sweaty fingers!