Swamp Darner dragonfly (female, oviposition)

The following photos show a Swamp Darner dragonfly (Epiaeschna heros) spotted on 23 May 2014 near a vernal pool in a relatively remote location in the forest at Huntley Meadows Park. This individual is a female, shown laying eggs (oviposition) in a muddy drainage ditch.

All female damselflies and many female dragonflies, especially Aeschnidae, have an ovipositor that is used to puncture aquatic plants, logs, wet mud, etc.; eggs are placed singly in the puncture. The ovipositor is clearly visible in all of the following photos.

Related Resources: Digital Dragonflies, presenting high-resolution digital scans of living dragonflies.

Genus Epiaeschna | Epiaeschna heros | Swamp Darner | female | top view
Genus Epiaeschna | Epiaeschna heros | Swamp Darner | female | side view

See also Swamp Darner Ovipositing in Rotting Log (NJ, USA), an excellent YouTube video published on June 5, 2014, shot from the edge of a vernal pool located in New Jersey.

Tags: adult female, Darner Family, Epiaeschna heros, Family Aeshnidae, Huntley Meadows Park, oviposition, ovipositor, Swamp Darner dragonfly, vernal pool, wildlife photography

This entry was posted on January 23, 2015 at 5:00 am and is filed under Aperture, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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