Like all
dragonflies,
Tramea lacerata pairs mate in the "wheel" position. The female mates once and stores all the sperm she needs for fertilization. If she should mate again, the second male will remove the sperm of the first male from her body with the brush-like apparatus on his specially-adapted
penis. During egg laying, the male releases the female so she can drop down to the water to release some eggs, whereupon she returns to the clutches of the male's claspers. Tramea lacerata-mating wheel.jpg|Mating wheel Tramea lacerata-flying tandem flight.jpg|Tandem flight Tramea lacerata-flying tandem separated.jpg|Pair separation Tramea lacerata-guarded ovipositing.jpg|Guarded ovipositing The
larvae of the dragonflies hatch and eat anything they can catch, favoring a carnivorous diet of organisms smaller than themselves. Adults of the species, especially males, congregate in swarms. Some populations of this dragonfly undertake migrations. Both the larvae and adult forms are efficient predators of
mosquitoes, so they are a helpful insect to have in wet areas where mosquito infestations occur. ==References==