Male dragonflies’ wax coats might protect them against a warming climate
The coat may have originally evolved as protection during sunny courtship flight
A male eight-spotted skimmer (Libellula forensis) perches on a twig with sunlight reflecting off the bright, waxy pruinescence on its abdomen. This waxy coating keeps males cool and may buffer some dragonfly species against the effects of a warming climate.
Sarah E. Nalley