I went on a walk to see what species of damselflies are out at the moment. I didn't see many, may be because of the weather, just these two:
A large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula):
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO160, f5.6, 1/500s
A female of unknown species depositing eggs:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/200s
Then, I noticed a strange bug swimming along. Just as I was getting used to insects and spiders walking on water, this one was swimming upside-down just below the surface:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s
There was a bit of glare from the water, and I didn't bring a polarisation filter, so I took some extra photos to maybe get a better look, here's one:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s
It looked like it was walking on the underside of the water surface.
I looked it up and it turns out to be one of the backswimmers (Notonectidae), probably a common backswimmer (Notonecta glauca), bootsmannetje in Dutch.
Finding its name didn't help; I still think it's a weird bug, but that feeling could well be mutual.
Its a "back float beetle" if you see him from the other side he looks way more interesting! Thanks for the nice pictures!
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Truly amazing, specially the bug upside down
had the same thoughts about them like you :D
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Probably, yes 8-).
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The upside down bug is known as a water boatman here in the UK (Notonecta glauca). I used to spend ages catching them as a child. I was always amazed at how they moved. They look like little kayaks, being rowed upside down. Ace!
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Underwater bugs are very strange, check out the damsel flies before they get their wings!
I'm glad they are small now, unlike 100s of millions of years ago!
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Here's a photo of the skin a dragonfly crawled out of, gives some idea of what the dragonfly larvae look like:
Scary enough empty, let alone moving!
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Very true! Haha, can't see the scary way they eat though! Their lower jaw projects forward like an arm to grab their victim.
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Great photos. Im getting addicted to your posts, dragonflyman 😀
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Thanks I haven't seen these ones before. Upvoted.
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Your photo work is outstanding. Inspiration for be to do better. Tk you
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@ocrdu
I like how you were able to get such a clear closeup on your first photo! I can tell you've been doing photography for a while to reflect this level of quality. Keep up the good work!
Upvoted
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Really cool photos)
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Thanks.
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