This damselfly adult flew in the window, landed on the tips of the Vallisneria
nana and proceeded to walk backwards down the blades of the val to lay eggs a
good 30cm under water. The body and wing cuticle repels water so it traps a
thin skin of air around it making it look silver. It happily marched around for
a good 10-15 mins while I took photos and poked it with a stick to interrupt the
egg laying. Damselfly larvae are predators and I can do without them in this
tank!
I always thought they landed on plants at the surface and just poked their bums
underwater to lay the eggs. Its a neat strategy... as in the wild it allows for
the pools to dry up a bit and the eggs remain underwater.
Another plus for open topped tanks.
(I'll recant those words if Damselfly larvae start eating fry!)
The fluffy plant is Limnophila brownii
