Hydrometra with Eurycercus
Water-measurer with Water-flea
This Water-measurer had a fat catch: Eurycercus
lamellatus, a water-flea that often sits on stems of water plants and thus makes a good target
for the flashing spear the sucking mouth of the Water-measurer is. It's a miraculous performance: we
humans may learn how to spear a fish, but imagine that spear attached to and moved by your head! The
little crustacean is injected with digestive fluids and after that sucked in as "protein porridge".
This Water-measurer caught more water-fleas within a few minutes, this one was it's best catch. The
Hydrometra is a last instar larva, the adult can be seen on this page. A day later the larva had a moulting, first I
thought the bug had perished, but later it appeared to be the skin that was shed off....
back to:
Water-measurer, general
COPYRIGHT:
All pictures on this site were made by
Gerard Visser (Aadorp,
Netherlands), unless stated otherwise. All rights remain with him. These pictures may not be used
for purposes any other than private viewing or printing. Do NOT hardlink to these pictures or
place them on other websites without the author's approval. Should you need them for purposes
which include third parties, you must ask the author permission by
e-mail. People, who want to use this pictures for exhibitions or publications
or educative material are much encouraged to do so, after approval as mentioned and giving the
normal credits.
© G.H. Visser 07-03-2004
rev. 03-02-2007
www.microcosmos.nl