[Odonata-l] Odd behavior by damselfly

[Dennis Paulson]

Bruce,

I think the speculation in the article is only that. Male odonates  
are amazingly prone to try to mate with species of odonates other  
than their own, and this is very true for Enallagma (I assume the  
species here is E. cyathigerum), but I would have thought a female  
Anax imperator would be too large to offer such a stimulus. Most  
mismatched mating attempts are with species no more than 20% smaller  
or larger than the male of the pair. An ovipositing female can be  
quite still, so perhaps it just offered a perch site, and when the  
male Enallagma landed on it, it twitched in response, and the  
damselfly lifted off again. If it really was a mating attempt, those  
British damselflies are more desperate and/or confused than I would  
have thought possible.

Dennis

On Jul 21, 2008, at 6:46 AM, Bruce Grimes wrote:

> Hi,
> A friend just sent this to me.  I have my doubts on the theories
> expressed for the  behavior.  Anyone have other thoughts?
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6xxsw8
>
> Bruce Grimes
> _______________________________________________
> Odonata-l mailing list
> Odonata-l at listhost.ups.edu
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-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net



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