Common Darter
12th June 2008, ThursdayWhile collecting exuvia yesterday morning, I was lucky to see this Common Darter larva actually emerge through the water surface and start to climb up plant stems to find an emergence spot. It was interesting to note that when an emergence spot was found, several minutes were spent rotating the long hind legs behind and below itself. I am sure this behaviour was checking for available space to emerge into. The second picture illustrates the amount space needed once the second resting stage is reached.
