Male dragonflies’ wax coats might protect them against a warming climate

Some male dragonflies have a waxy coat that keeps them cool while pursuing mates and may also help the insects shrug off a warming climate.

U.S. dragonfly species that produce the special wax are faring better in the face of ever-hotter and drier conditions compared with their waxless counterparts. This suggests theThe wax gives some dragonflies a kind of “ecological superpower” for being able to use an expanded range of habitats, says Michael Moore, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado Denver.

And he wonders if other insects have sexual adaptations that could provide buffers against climate change. For example, someThese insects must have some impressive biology for beating the heat during mating, Moore says.

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