May 2, 2017 - For some animals, sex can be a risky activity, especially if the timing isn’t right. Copulation can be energy-intensive, and can cause injury to one of the partners. One species of dragonfly, called the moorland hawker, native to the Swiss Alps, has evolved an unusual strategy to mitigate possible danger. Females are especially vulnerable right after egg laying, so if they spy a male approaching when they’re leaving a newly deposited clutch, they sometimes play dead. The ploy often works, with the male passing the seeming carcass by, and the female flying away when the male has moved on.
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Why Female Dragonflies Go to Extreme Lengths to Avoid Sex
