I documented these damselflies mating by the bank of the Garonne river in South West France. Inspired by the incredible natural environment of the river, I was aiming to create a video in the spirit of a Monet painting, with that being said what I might have produced instead is a short movie of tender bug erotica.
The mating process of damselflies includes the following stages:
1. The male produces a sperm packet from the tip (10th segment) of his abdomen, and then curling his abdomen under itself to deposit the packet in a small depression on the underside of his 2nd abdominal segment.
2. The male grabs the head of the female mid-air, with the claspers at the tip of his abdomen.
3. After a while, the female bends her abdomen below her and up under the male’s abdomen to pick up the sperm packet with her genital opening. At this stage, the mating pair forms a shape known as a "heart" or "wheel". They fly around in this position together for several minutes.
The species documented in this video is the common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum). Like other damselflies, they are sensitive to certain changes or factors in the environment and therefore make up an important link between the health of the aquatic ecosystem and its response to climate change. As bioindicators they can help scientists assess the quality of their habitat.