Reproductive behavior of Enallagma coecum (Hagen) in Cuba (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)

The reproductive behavior is described from 2 populations on the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba, between June 2005 and May 2006. 3 3 started arriving at the water body in the morning nearly 2 h before 9 9. Sperm translocation was brief (less than 30 s), and the duration of copulation averaged about 18 min. During oviposition the 9 was guarded in tandem by the 3, except when she submerged under water, when non-contact guarding was observed. The mean duration of oviposition was about 10 min. Abiotic factors that interfered with the reproduction were wind, absence of sun, and rain; and the biotic interactions included conspecific 3 3, spiders of the genus Dolomedes, Gambusia punctata fishes and the lizard Anolis sagrei.