Dragonflies Mating

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Photographed at Karnala Bird Sanctuary a couple of weeks ago. This pair landed in front of me for a few seconds, this is the best shot I could get.

The male (on the right) grasps the back of the female's head using a pair of claspers at the tip of his abdomen. They fly around for upto 15 minutes in this position. The females then curls her abdomen downwards and forwards to reach the male's abdomen to mate. This forms a shape somewhat like a heart, called the 'wheel' position. This lasts a few seconds, after which they separate.
Interestingly, male dragonflies are known to catch unwary females, thus "forcing" them to mate.

Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/640
Av (Aperture Value) 5.6
Exposure Compensation -1/3
ISO Speed 100
White Balance Cloudy

Thanks for looking, coments and critiques awaited...

[Praveen Siddannavar]

Lovely action captured Abhishek!, however the light seems very harsh.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks Praveen. Yes, the light was quite harsh, it was around 3 o'clock on a very sunny afternoon.

[Bibhav Behera]

Nice behaviour documented. I feel that somehow the subjects do not stand out in the image. Perhaps due to the harsh light, it looks similar to the background... have seen this knid of mating... Always a pleasure to learn more. Thanks for sharing...

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice behaviourial photograph. They are nicely camoflagued with the stones, so difficult to photograph. Wish the light was good. Keep posting..

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks everyone,
Now that you mention it, I agree that they don't stand out... I feel it's due to the many blacks on the dragonflies as well as the BG... Thanks for pointing it out

[Sagar Patil]

Nice image Abhishek. Good info too.

I think you could go still more close, looking to the area you covered in this shot.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks Sagar,
This was photographed at the tele end and then cropped. As I have mentioned, they sat for only a few seconds, so didn't get many chances to shoot them. Also didn't want to get too close because I was afraid they would fly off.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Interestingly, male dragonflies are known to catch unwary females, thus "forcing" them to mate.

Abhishek,
Thanks for posting this and the accompanying description. It is certainly enriching. It is surprising that the dragonflies too "force" like humans.

The cloudy white balance doesn't help here. Reduce the colour temperature and the image will appear better.

Cheers,
Sabyasahi