Clasper
1st June 2009, MondayOn Saturday as part of the RX Wildlife festival a pond dipping event was held at Castle water, sadly only two participants turned up, still, one of the highlights was finding a Hairy Hawker larva. This species is a typical example of a clasper, which is a term used to define one of the four foraging methods used by dragonfly larvae. The larva shown in the picture tried to adopt the clasping position at every oppotunity, in this instance grabbing my finger. When replaced back in the water the larva quickly clasped a dark typha stem where it was instanly camouflaged ready to grab any passing prey.
