Reproduction

     Like almost all other animals, the Zigzag Darner reproduces sexually. Males defend their territory just like birds, wolves, lions, etc. When a female comes in the vicinity of other males, the males compete to gain possession of the female. Competitions like fighting, flight contests, and threatening displays of patterns of colors on their bodies are the easiest ways to title the alpha male. When the alpha is selected the male will grasp onto the female's head and abdomen. The male will now clasp the back of the female's head. This is called the tandem position. If the female accepts this advance, she will tip her abdomen upward to touch the male's genitals to hers. This position is called the wheel position ("Dragonflies and Damselflies"). After the male successfully delivers his sperm to the female, the female usually lays eggs almost immediately.
     As the female is laying her eggs the male Zigzag Darner is usually perched close by guarding her from other males. The females usually lay her eggs on grass, close to a shoreline, or mud. One mating can sometimes supply the female a lifetime of fertilized eggs. However, if the female mates again with a different male within about twenty-four hours the first male would forfeit the eggs to the most current male ("Zigzag Darner-Aeshna sitchensis").
     Once the eggs are fertilized one thing the larva have to worry about before they are adults are mites around their environment. The mites will latch onto the Zigzag Darner larva and suck out their juices, killing them. If that doesn't happen, the Aeshna sitchensis larva undergoes incomplete metamorphosis. It consists of the egg, larva, and the adult stage. The Zigzag Darner spends its life majority in the larva stage. This is when the egg hatches and the larva molts once and starts to hunt. The larva will molt several times before developing into an adult.
     Once the larva is ready to transform into an adult, the Zigzag Darner will cling to a surface like a rock, branch, etc and rest for a short period of time. Once it is ready, the skin on the dragonfly will crack open and the thorax of the adult Zigzag Darner emerges. The crack widens allowing the wings, head and part of the abdomen to emerge. The Zigzag Darner rests again and that allows the legs to harden. This helps the adult Aeshna sitchensis to grasp the larva skin and pull him or herself out ("Dragonflies and Damselflies"). Now the dragonfly rests again and this allows the wings to fill with hemolymph. The Zigzag Darner rests for about an hour letting the wings dry up. Once this happens the adult Zigzag Darner takes its first flight finding food, mates, and repeating the cycle again.
                                                 
                                 (Picture from "Dragonflies and Damselflies" illustrating the Wheel Position)   

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