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Would you try this to escape a bad date?
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October 10, 2026 Fact of the Day Insects Female dragonflies fake their deaths to avoid unwanted mates. By Nicole Villeneuve If someone you weren’t interested in was pursuing you and couldn’t take a hint, would you play dead? That’s exactly what female moorland hawker dragonflies do. Also known as common hawkers, these dragonflies have been observed suddenly dropping out of the sky, crashing to the ground, and lying completely motionless when an overly enthusiastic male is trying to mate. Once the male loses interest and flies away, the female gets back up and takes off. This trick is particularly useful if the female has already mated and is looking for somewhere to lay her eggs; repeated mating attempts can injure females, so rather than risk another unwanted encounter, sometimes the safest thing to do is to play possum. The animal kingdom’s harshest rejections True or False? Male fruit flies seek out alcohol after rejection. True False Keep Exploring Across Species What Does “Courtship” Mean in the Animal Kingdom? Across Species Why Do Some Animals Eat Their Mates After Sex? Insects Insects That Wear Things Was this email forwarded to you? Sign Up Advertise Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use 325 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60654 If you'd like to unsubscribe from all Animal Facts emails, click here.