The first thing to realize when watching the Tule Bluet is that you can normally tell the boys from the girls. The males are blue and black while the females are brown and black.
Tule Bluets mating in the wheel position (taken a previous year)
It is of interest to tell the sexes apart as these damselflies seem to spend most of their adult lives either trying to mate, mating, protecting their investment, or laying eggs.
Damselflies are one of August’s lakeshore delights. More often in the past, I have seen them mate, something they do in what is known as the wheel position where the male clasps the female by the back of the head. After mating, he maintains this hold on her neck and accompanies her until she has laid the eggs he fertilized.
Sunday, I watched the later stages of this interaction: the flying away, fending off competitors, and guarding her until eggs are laid on a plant just below the surface of the water. Three pictures, below.
This is my freshly mated girlfriend; I drag her around with me because…
so many others would like to transform my investment into their own investment.
I stay locked on her until she has laid all (my) eggs (and hope that those minnows don’t eat them).
