This is the larva of a Fishfly, one of my favorite aquatic insects. It’s one of those insects that are associated with clean, well oxygenated water. I see it as a sign that no one upstream has yet done anything to severely degrade the water quality of my creek. It’s also a tough creature, surviving the summertime drying of the creek by curling up in damp pockets deep beneath the creek rock.
I found these by lifting a flat rock in the creek. They are predators that prowl beneath the rocks during the day and move about the creek bed under the cover of darkness. The larva is the only aquatic form. It pupates on land and spends adulthood as a flying form.
It also has one of those shapes that a small boy cannot resist. In some parts of the country these larvae are used as fishing bait. As a child, I fished at every opportunity, but I could never bring myself to sacrifice one of these marvelous creatures to the hook. I much preferred to take them home and raise them in an aquarium.
This is the larva of a Fishfly, one of my favorite aquatic insects. It’s one of those insects that are associated with clean, well oxygenated water. I see it as a sign that no one upstream has yet done anything to severely degrade the water quality of my creek. It’s also a tough creature, surviving the summertime drying of the creek by curling up in damp pockets deep beneath the creek rock. 
I found these by lifting a flat rock in the creek. They are predators that prowl beneath the rocks during the day and move about the creek bed under the cover of darkness. The larva is the only aquatic form. It pupates on land and spends adulthood as a flying form. 
It also has one of those shapes that a small boy cannot resist. In some parts of the country these larvae are used as fishing bait. As a child, I fished at every opportunity, but I could never bring myself to sacrifice one of these marvelous creatures to the hook. I much preferred to take them home and raise them in an aquarium.
