Aquatic Insects (1968)

[Music] many different kinds of insects live in and around fresh water the damel fly like many others lays its eggs in the [Music] water the female damul fly inserts its abdomin in the water and leaves its eggs where they will hatch and eventually develop into mature [Music] insects other insects like the water Strider spend most of their lives on the surface whirly gig beetles are also creatures of the surface they travel on top of the water most of the time but occasionally these Beatles are found beneath the surface along with other kinds of insect life many aquatic animals are swimming through the water here others such as this large insect known as a water bug are quietly attached to the plants aquatic insects may be observed in an aquarium which recreates their natural environment insects for an aquarium can be collected in a variety of ways some can be scooped from beneath the surface with a net many specimens can be taken from almost any brook or pond in this way others can be captured with a net on the surface aquatic insects can be transported in jars or buckets and placed in an aquarium for observation but water alone will not recreate the natural habitat sand and rocks must be added so that those insects like dragonfly nymphs which live along the bottom will be able to carry on their lives as usual there should also be green plants as food for some insects and to provide oxygen if the plants do not give off enough oxygen an oxygenator should be set up this will help keep the water fresh and wholesome some of the insects which develop into adults with wings may fly away if the aquarium is not covered and many of these aquatic in insects will feed on one another if they are not separated into individual tanks so we may want to set up several aquariums now we can begin observing our insects to find out how they live one thing we will notice is that some like this Beetle are plant eaters they get their nourishment from leaves and stems others are meat eaters they feed on animals and take their nourishment from flesh this dragonfly nymph half buried at the bottom eats other animals such as fly larvey this is another predacious insect it stalks its prey slowly it has a long mouth part which reaches out to capture its food it may feed on small animals like these or even attack another carnivore such as this damsel fly nymph and there are also a host of other creatures like this water Beetle which can act as scavengers feeding on animals that are dead or dying scavengers help keep the water clean if it were not for them the water might become very polluted as these insects go about getting their food each one plays an important part in the balance of nature which makes life possible green plants Plante eaters and flesh eaters all fit into a food chain which supports life in the water but most of these insects need to move just to find their food many kinds of locomotion can be observed some like the whirly gig beetles swim on the surface but they can also move underwat whenever this becomes necessary others like the larvey of the water Beetle will sometimes be seen walking along the bottom and sometimes swimming through the Water by paddling their feet some dragonfly nymphs take in water and shoot themselves along with a kind of jet propulsion some water beetles swim around the plants as they search for the dead or dying creatures which are their food or else these scavengers move in and out of Ong the Rocks which may hide morsels of food that have dropped to the bottom this water Beetle has webike membranes on its hind feet these make its legs function almost like ores the back swimmer moves along upside down just beneath the water surface it has long paddle-like legs for moving around the back swimmer eats food from the surface and breathes air when its Air Supply is diminished the back swimmer will push its abdomen above the water for more many nymphs such as those of the mayfly and dobsonfly take oxygen from the water like fish they breathe through gills along the sides of their bodies the dragonfly nymph also takes oxygen from the water the water goes in and out through the back of the nymph's body if ink is dropped into the water near the dragonfly nymph's tail we can see the currents which are set up as the nymph breathes inside the body oxygen is removed from the water and used to support the insect's life many insects like this water scavenger Beetle must continually go to the surface to take in air air is drawn along the outside of the antenna and stored on the underside of the body and beneath the wing cover the water scorpion is often seen backing toward the surface it breathes air through a long tail-like tube the tube is pushed above the surface to reach air as we continue observing these insects we may see the mol and leave their empty exoskeletons behind we will see them reproduce each in its own way here a female water bug lays eggs on the back of its mate the male carries them through the water as it swims along after food and it will carry the eggs wherever it goes until they develop and hatch so the cycle of Life continues generation after [Music] generation yet many of these insects spend only a part of their lives beneath the surface they leave as soon as they are mature these empty exoskeletons of dragonfly nymphs show that the dragonflies have matured and left the water they have entered a new stage in their life cycles but these IC insects cannot be understood without knowing something of the underwater stages of their lives many of them live most of their days beneath the surface and emerge into the air only to mate and [Music] reproduce