I had the urge to go out photographing this morning. The day dawned a little overcast, and the filtered sunlight made me think about exploring nature with a macro lens on the camera. I found some Seaside Dragonlets, a member of the dragonfly family that breeds in saltwater. I photographed a male and female in interesting mating behavior called tandem linkage. This involves the male holding the female by the neck using claspers at the base of his tail. This tandem linkage is carried out during the egg laying process where the female dips her abdomen into floating algal mats in the marsh and deposits her eggs. The male holds on during this process to protect the female from rival males. Fertilization occurs just as she deposits her eggs into the water. Who knew all this was happening? You never know what you will learn as a result of going out with a macro lens to see what you can find.
