Grab your partner by the neck

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No, that's not a square-dancing instruction, but damselfly foreplay.

These are small red damselflies (Ceriagrion tenellum), koraaljuffers in Dutch, about to mate. The male has grabbed the female by the neck:


Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f8, 1/80s


Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f8, 1/60s

I saw them the other day in the Armenveen, a peat bog in The Netherlands, near the German border.

They retreated discreetly for their mating, but here's an older photo showing how bendy they need to be for that:


Olympus XZ-1, 28mm, ISO100, f5.6, 1/100s

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Grab your partner by the neck | Ecency