Just Found A Damselfly Nymph

[mr130gallon]

i think we have tonnes of damselflies where i live, cuz i see lots of the nymphs and i dont see as many dragonflys, plus they look pretty much the same when they are flying

 

[flix_cw]

OK i really can't decide what it is then, it's kind of a cross between the above pictures of a damselfly and dragonfly larvae.

Here's the picture i took of it in a hurry, camera wouldn't focus properly which was annoying, with or without macro function on. It disappeared after that. it's right at the base of the larva rock next to the substrate.

 

[razer121]

that to me looks just like a damsel nymph's back end, im pretty sure thats what you have

 

[flix_cw]

cool cool, check out its scary reflective eye!

 

[flix_cw]

three-fingers, how large did your nymph grow to before becoming airborne?

Also, what behaviour do they exert? Do they spend a lot of time hiding or are they often out swimming around? I haven't seen mine since that first sighting and i've only got a 28L - do they burrow under substrate?

 

[three-fingers]

Just about 2.5cm, maybe 3cm.

Never saw mine burrowing, spent a lot of time sitting places motionless, not specifically hiding, was more like tying to blend in and ambush fry.

that is well cool! i reall want one of these, your fly did it survive? what happened to it? (sorry havent got time to read your thread just yet lol)

I had it about a day, and it was either chased out a small opening of my window into the cold by my kittens, or possibly eaten by a carnivorous plant.

 

[flix_cw]

I spotted the nymph for the first time again today! It was crawling up my thermometer up to the surface so i thought something was up.

I fished it out and put it on top of my filter outlet, out of the water, and it promply began to molt! I've managed to take some cool step-by-step photos. It's now a nearly fully formed damselfly! It's just having a breather.

Not sure what to do with it now though... Doubt it'll survive london in february!

 

[Hokum]

Can you post pics i'd be interested if its a british species or not?

 

[kaivalagi]

Can you post pics i'd be interested if its a british species or not?

+1

Just want to see some pics of the thing, cool stuff

 

[flix_cw]

This is what i spotted
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Followed by this

So i fished him out

The final picture is how it looks at the moment. As you can see it's getting darker down it's shaft, and there's a dark patch on the top of it's head and back.

 

[kaivalagi]

Great stuff flix_cw, any takers on the specific damsel fly species yet?

 

[flix_cw]

I've sent an email and a couple of pics to the British Dragonfly Society,let's hope they can shed some light!

 

[flix_cw]

It has a bit more colour this evening since going on a test flight

 

[Hokum]

Looks like a type of Emerald but i'm no an expert on them sadly.

 

[flix_cw]

Anyone else any idea what species this damselfly is?

It's been sunning itself on my lamp for the last 2 days.