Dragonflies Laying Eggs

Never let it be said that Naturally Curious readers aren’t creative thinkers (see guesses on yesterday’s post) ! The vertical slits in the cattail leaves were made by female dragonflies that were in the process of laying their eggs. There are many different egg-laying strategies employed by dragonflies. Many females in the group of large, strong-flying dragonflies known as “darners” (such as the pictured Black-tipped Darner, Aeshna tuberculifera) use their lance-like ovipositors (see photo) to insert eggs into plants stems such as cattail, sphagnum moss, rotting wood or wet soil. However, most species of dragonflies possess non-functional ovipositors. The eggs of many of these species are washed off into water during flight as the female dips the tip of her abdomen into the lake, pond, river or stream.

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