Editing Fertilisation (section)

=== Insects ===
[[File:Voo nupcial detail.jpg|thumb|upright|Red-veined darters (''[[Sympetrum fonscolombii]]'') flying "in cop" (male ahead), enabling the male to prevent other males from mating. The eggs are fertilised as they are laid, one at a time.]]
{{expand section|date=February 2015}}<!--at least cover dragonflies, bees-->

Insects in different groups, including the [[Odonata]] ([[dragonflies]] and [[damselflies]]) and the [[Hymenoptera]] ([[ant]]s, [[bee]]s, and [[wasp]]s) practise delayed fertilisation. Among the Odonata, females may mate with multiple males, and store sperm until the eggs are laid. The male may hover above the female during egg-laying (oviposition) to prevent her from mating with other males and replacing his sperm; in some groups such as the darters, the male continues to grasp the female with his claspers during egg-laying, the pair flying around in tandem.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dijkstra |first=Klaas-Douwe B. |title=Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe |year=2006 |publisher=British Wildlife Publishing |isbn=0-9531399-4-8|pages=8–9}}</ref> Among social Hymenoptera, [[honeybee]] queens mate only on mating flights, in a short period lasting some days; a queen may mate with eight or more [[drone (bee)|drones]]. She then stores the sperm for the rest of her life, perhaps for five years or more.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Waldbauer |first1=Gilbert |title=The Birder's Bug Book|date=1998 |publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Agriculture and Consumer Protection|title=Beekeeping in Africa: Colony life and social organization|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0104e/t0104e05.htm|publisher=FAO}}</ref><!--other bees ...-->