I liked to make paper- and plastic models when I was a child. Seems like the directions for assembling many models — not that anyone reads the directions — always started by saying something like “Insert Tab A in Slot B.”
Oddly enough, that line reminds me of how odonates copulate, in general, and Cobra Clubtail dragonflies (Gomphurus vastus) in particular.
Male
The hamules are “Tab A.”
09 MAY 2017 | Riverbend Park | Cobra Clubtail (male)
Female
The subgenital plate is “Slot B.”
09 MAY 2017 | Riverbend Park | Cobra Clubtail (female)
Putting it all together
Insert Tab A in Slot B. That’s the PG-rated version of how Cobra Clubtail dragonflies copulate in order to reproduce.
The Backstory
There is an annual mass emergence of Cobra Clubtails during the first week-or-two of May at Riverbend Park. It’s a spectacular event worth seeing firsthand!
The following photo shows a dead female, one of several Cobra Clubtails that were trampled by groups of elementary school children visiting the park on 09 May 2017. Her premature death saddens me because it was avoidable — the students should have been warned to watch their step because there were lots of Cobra Clubtails perching on the ground almost everywhere.
09 MAY 2017 | Riverbend Park | Cobra Clubtail (female)
In the hope the female didn’t die in vein, I reluctantly decided to photograph the corpse in order to illustrate her external reproductive anatomy.
Editor’s Note: Sincere thanks to Dennis Paulson for help in identifying the female parts on the ventral side of abdominal segments eight and nine (S8-9).
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Cobra Clubtail dragonfly, female, Gomphurus vastus, hamules, male, Potomac River, Riverbend Park, subgenital plate
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