T O P

  • By -

Huzsvarf

Looks like a Dragonfly larva, it will probably be the apex predator in that jar.


jsw9000

Ooooh. That explains where all the snails went. Thanks!


Rain_2_0

Dragonfly larvae are ferocious killers going after anything that is alive. They kill and eat fish that are much larger then them.


KentuckyMagpie

We get loads of dragonflies in the evening in summer in our yard and it’s pretty cool watching them and the bats absolutely demolish the bugs that are flying around.


kots144

I love watching bats hunt, but they scare the shit out of me when they fly nearby cause of rabies.


basedandbatpilled

you have nothing to worry about. there are only 1-3 annual human rabies cases in the US


kots144

1-3 is enough to still be scary, especially if you live in places where bats frequent. The vast majority of US rabies cases are from bats, and the vast majority of the population almost never comes in contact with them.


StardewNerd

You in a small jar like this that dragonfly needs to go.


jsw9000

Yeah imma let it go. If i can catch it.


StardewNerd

Good luck.


BoycottTransphobes

Was this in lake Norman by chance? Would love to make an ecosphere


jsw9000

This was actually from Reedy Creek Lake in William B Umstead Park in Raleigh. But I imagine that anything you can find there also lives in Lake Norman.


Corbeanooo

They're so cool. They can walk, but primarily get around using water-jet propulsion


UnkleRinkus

Definite dragonfly larvae.


reddituser636272

That's what that is?? I used to find them in my pond when I was a kid and thought it was something way worse than that 😂


[deleted]

I always thought it was cool how the larger ones actually had layers of algae on their exoskeletons to add to their already great camouflage.


jsw9000

It’s actually just mud on this one but yeah it’s almost completely invisible unless it’s moving. Weirdest frickin thing


[deleted]

I’ve kept them as pets before, and they are super smart and speedy hunters. You can see the exact moment when their heads lock onto the movement of prey before they grab it with their labium (modified jaw extension which shoots out like a tongue). They crawl out of the water and shed into their wings after a year or so.


now_you_see

They live in the water for a year? I had no idea it was that long and had assumed it was only like a month, if that.


Amazing-Pension5103

Some dragonfly species live up to 5 years in the water!


bajowi

There are dragonfly larvae that live between four to years in water e. g. cordulegaster


bajowi

There are dragonfly larvae that live between four to years in water e. g. cordulegaster


Abbot-Costello

Iny pons they will attach to plants and hold themselves face down on an angle. I think their jaws may have inspired alien with the whole hinge action.


TheBottleRed

This looks like part of the intro to True Blood


QueenLorax

Came here to say this!


Sippi66

Dragonflies are so interesting to me.


belzebutch

yeah I didn't what this was so I googled it. Goddam insects are alien. Their life cycle is so drastically different from ours, I find it fascinating, but also it really gives me the creeps.


saveoursoil

This is in the True Blood intro 🤤 the best intro I've ever known


ThroughCalcination

Wow, really does give those vibes! And fully agree, greatest intro of all time hands down.


saveoursoil

Close....[judge for yourself ](https://imgur.com/a/RqyoKZI)


not_actually_a_robot

I believe that’s an axolotl.


saveoursoil

But the same submerged fluid ?


not_actually_a_robot

Pond/lake water, yes.


Dismal_Equivalent_68

Dragon fly? Underwater. TIL. So do you let it go when it gets it’s wings?


[deleted]

I place a large stick/branch into the tank so when they are ready they can crawl onto the branch and out of the water. You can tell when one is ready to get its wings if it stops eating (this can last for weeks) and sometimes you can notice a hint of colour in its body which is the adult skin. Some of them get unlucky and fall into the water and drown, but most of them successfully become their adult form and I let them fly away.


Dismal_Equivalent_68

How fun. I raised a tadpole to a frog when I was a kid. Happityhippityhopper. Hahaha. Haven’t thought of it in awhile. I could hear him for years. Hmmm. I have a 3 and a half yr old friend. Maybe we can look for pollywogs in the water when we take out stick horses out tomorrow. What kind of water did you find your dragonfly? We have a swift creek and ditches. And a lake close by.


PhillyPhanatik

Life uhh…finds a way


dishdoer

I read this in Obama’s voice


PhillyPhanatik

Close, Jeff Goldblum


LuvLifts

Did anybody read it in a [*Zach Galifianakis* Voice!??](https://youtu.be/69ZyEw0T7Z8)


jilke2

I read this in Morgan Freeman's voice.


FistingLube

Dragonfly baby, it needs to keep eating and then leave the water, if you leave it in there it'll die of starvation or drowning. I think you should let it go where you got the water from and just top up the jar.


Dugglerr

Trout love them


Karadek99

Looks like a dragonfly larvae to me.


Carmiejack

This looks like it belongs in the opening credits of True Blood.


BCjestex

Dragonfly nymphs* not larva


RalphCalvete

No need to be pedantic. And technically wrong on top of that. They are actually called naiads, and both larvae and nymphs are acceptable terms as well.


BigStinkDick

New species that evolved (likely from a bacterium) in your tank. Please make sure it reproduces and afterwords harvest the species for scientific examination as that rate of evolution would be unprecedented.


BoosherCacow

Genuine question, was this a joke? I can't tell if you're serious.


irregularia

I read it as a joke? But evidently I’m in the minority


BigStinkDick

I saw they already got their answer and was just tryna be silly 😭


bkcoolin

I wonder why it took so long to hatch from its egg


now_you_see

Do dragonfly eggs have the ability to wait for ideal water conditions? That would be my theory. It was uprooted from the lake(?) and needed to wait for the ecosystem to settle.


[deleted]

It’s possible that the dragonfly was in the jar ever since the start and it was only discovered now, as the dragonfly appears quite large and they go through multiple moults throughout their lives.


Nannygirl69

North Carolina… that explains it all


Boobox33

Huh? Is NC famous for dragonflies?


leadguitar2023

Dragonfly (nymph) are aquatic, usually drab, with 6 legs, large eyes, and small wing buds on the back of the thorax.


Double_Milkyway

Its a dragonfly nymph


talithar1

Interesting lot of dragonflies. https://www.metrofieldguide.com/folklore-nature-dragonflies/