Female dragonflies fake their deaths to avoid interaction with male suitors

Female dragonflies are playing dead in the hopes of avoiding male suitors and we totally get it.

It’s a jungle out there, ladies, and we do what we have to to get by. We’ve all been there – a guy you have zero interest in approaches you in a bar and you grab your closest friend and claim you’re happily in a relationship. Or you just awkwardly swivel in circles in the hopes of avoiding eye contact altogether. Well, some ladies are taking it a step further and pretending to be dead just to avoid the unwanted interaction. We’re talking about female dragonflies who have been found to plummet to the ground to convince male suitors they are dead. A scientific study published in the journal Ecology says that female dragonflies are “faking death to avoid male coercion: extreme sexual conflict resolution in a dragonfly.”

We've all been there. https://t.co/2Z4A1IdEzg

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 1, 2017

The study found that females who were being chased by males for a long period of time would eventually spiral to the floor and remain motionless. "The male hovered above the female for a couple seconds and then left," read the study. "I expected that the female could be unconscious or even dead after her crash landing, but she surprised me by flying away quickly as I approached. "The question arose: did she just trick that male? Did she fake death to avoid male harassment?" The findings have now struck a chord with many women who have had to develop their own strategies to get out of similar situations. "Otherwise known as me in my 20s," wrote one woman on Twitter in response to the findings. Yes, the methods used by the female dragonfly are not too distant to those used by women everywhere when they receive unwanted male attention. Many women have been taking to Twitter to share their thoughts on the news, and the main response – complete understanding. "'Me no need a man' says this female dragonfly," commented one woman.