Large Red Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) by the pond in the garden, Beveren, Belgium

Major excitement in the garden today as we witnessed perhaps our first tenants arriving at the new pond! We had two pairs of these Large Red Damsels arrive in the tandem flying position. We didn't see them in the heart shaped mating position, but we watched both pairs during ovidepositing. Males, after mating, where they pass a nuptial package to the female containing sperm and protein, hold the female with claspers at the end of his abdomen around the back of her neck (between head and thorax). They like to accompany the females and be there when the eggs are laid! Other males can come in and the female will eject the nuptial package in order to receive a new one one. Naughty!

The egg-laying business is performed in different ways by diferent species of damsels (and dragonflies): some drop the eggs like bombs onto the surface of the water to sink, and some have a knife like adapter on the abdomen to make a slit on a blade of reed rising from the water into which they insert eggs. These Large Red Damsels land on a floating leaf and bend the underside of the abdomen under the leaf to attach the eggs. It's not clear if the male helps choose the particular leaf!

Eventually the eggs will hatch and a tiny damselfly nymph will hatch out and inhabit the floor of the pond and live there for perhaps a whole year (sometimes several) growing larger and shedding skins until it's time to become an adult. Of course at this time I don't expect their is much to eat in this new pond (they are carnivores), so perhaps this generation wont work out. All in good time.