Some female dragonflies go to great lengths to avoid sex—they fake their own deaths.
For the first time, a scientist has observed that female moorland hawker dragonflies freeze mid-air, crash to the ground, and lie motionless when faced with aggressive males.
Called sexual death feigning, this behavior evolved to protect females against aggressive males; for instance, female moorland hawker dragonflies risk injury and sometimes death if coerced into mating.
Read more on the National Geographic website.