Search

Damselfly larvae devour a fish and a mosquito

on 12th December 2013

Damselflies, like dragonflies, pass through a larval stage that develops in water. As the larva grow in size, it moults many times before becoming an adult. It is a voracious carnivore, catching and eating its prey that includes small aquatic insects and their larvae, small crustaceans, fishes and even worms.

Tang Hung Bun LINK, an avid dragonfly enthusiast, managed to document the larva of the Look-alike Sprite (Pseudagrion australasiae) catching and eating a small fish alive (below). An uncommon damselfly in Singapore (above), the larva was lurking among the water-weed waiting for an unsuspecting prey when the fish appeared.

As Hung Bun describes it, “Once the damselfly larva senses something moving below it, it quickly turns its body around and makes its first, but unsuccessful, attempt to catch the fish with its elbowed labium [extension of a specialised lower lip]. If you watch the clip carefully, you would be able to see the fish swimming away from the extended labium of the larva. Soon the fish comes back and this time the damselfly larva manages to secure its meal. The action is too fast for my camera (running at 25fps) to capture clearly. The damselfly larva then slowly consumes the whole body of the fish, except the head.” This it does with its powerful mandibles.

Note that the larva is 23 mm long as compared to the 7 mm long fish.

In the video below, a group of larvae of the Variable Sprite (Argiocnemis rubescens) (above), another uncommon damselfly, is foraging in a pond in a forested area. One of the larvae managed to catch a mosquito and consumed it in about 20 minutes.

Credit: Tang Hung Bung (Variable Sprite video/image); Lena Chow (look-alike Sprite image).

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

3 Responses

  1. In the video of the damselfly eating the mosquito, an insect is heard calling in the background from 0:17-0:38. Can anyone identify this insect please? I always hear its calls near my place.

    Also, I’m surprised the damselfly took a relatively long time to consume the mosquito. Fantastic videos. Wish I could have seen the damselfly’s mouthparts.

    1. Thank you! I thought it might be that, but I searched on YouTube last time and the videos posted of cicada calls are different. I wonder if they call differently in colder climates.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
1023
27362
Visitors Today
51766363
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)