I recently had the chance to observe the dance of a pair of damselflies.
And I wondered if it could be the ritual for their courtship-mating dance?
And I wondered if it could be the ritual for their courtship-mating dance?
It was a bright, hot, sunny morning and the venue was at a small stream in an open area. I could have easily missed the whole spectacle but for the ghostly fluttering movements that caught my eye. I crept in closer and crouched down to watch and wait.
This pair of Vestalis damselflies were just dancing in the breeze. The female damselfly would always be at the front, facing into the breeze and fluttering her wings while the male damselfly would flutter just behind her, following her every movement. And they would just be dancing on the spot like that.
After a while she would dash a few meters away, followed eagerly by the male damselfly and the pair would then dance on the spot again. And they went on like that for quite a long while, going to and fro, to and fro, just fluttering away.
I crouched there in the hot sun and waited. No wonder passers-by think I'm out of my mind, right? But all I could think of was that this pair of damselflies would have to stop and perch at some point, isn't it? And I had hoped they would perch near to me.
This pair of Vestalis damselflies were just dancing in the breeze. The female damselfly would always be at the front, facing into the breeze and fluttering her wings while the male damselfly would flutter just behind her, following her every movement. And they would just be dancing on the spot like that.
After a while she would dash a few meters away, followed eagerly by the male damselfly and the pair would then dance on the spot again. And they went on like that for quite a long while, going to and fro, to and fro, just fluttering away.
I crouched there in the hot sun and waited. No wonder passers-by think I'm out of my mind, right? But all I could think of was that this pair of damselflies would have to stop and perch at some point, isn't it? And I had hoped they would perch near to me.
And they did.
Vestalis gracilis, male
Vestalis gracilis, female
So I managed to take photos of each of the male and female damselflies. These are the Vestalis gracilis damselflies.
On several occasions, when the female perched on a stem of grass, the male would also stop to perch just inches away, at opposites and face to face with the female damselfly. After a short break, the dancing starts again. And the whole sequence is repeated. Eventually, they went too far away and disappeared soon after that.
It is just too bad that I could not take photos when they perched face-to-face or even of their dance though I have the performance filmed in my mind's eye.
These Vestalis gracilis damselflies are as graceful as their name suggests and their fluttering dancing movements were certainly elegant.
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