French Kissing In The Front Garden

I have photographed the courtship behaviour of common malachite beetles once before in 2014.

The males have glands between their antennae which produce a sex pheromone-rich substance. Special lobes on the antennae are used to collect this and then the male holds his antennae out straight and wiggles them. The females find the substance irresistible and gobble it up. Sometimes but not always this will be followed by mating. My beetles flew their separate ways after 'kissing'. Another female was waiting in the wings for her taste but got knocked off her perch by the pair.