Up Close With a Broad Bodied Chaser Nymph

I spent a few hours earlier in the week during the evening photographing a Broad bodied Chaser nymph up close in my indoor tank. I think its fair to say that as far as looks go, these nymphs have not been blessed in that department but are perfectly equipped for the type of lifestyle they lead. Rather than going in pursuit of prey, they normally lay low in the mud and silt with just their eyes and tip of the abdomen sticking up and wait for hours in the hope that some prey will pass overhead where in the blink of an eye, the jaws are opened and shot forward to grab the unsuspecting prey. I have witnessed a few of these attacks whilst observing them in my indoor tank and although I have mainly small shingle in there, they can easily move down in between them and hide. The hairs on their body are designed to cling onto the debris they mix with and this also provides more camouflage for them. They often take a while to locate but with a few bits of worm introduced to the tank nearby, this can usually prompt an attack. As this species spends quite a while sitting still, they often can make for an easier subject to photograph and when in position near the front of the glass, I was able to take a good number of photos and despite the lack of depth of field which is a challenge with macro photography, I was quite pleased with a number of photos. 

Broad bodied Chaser Nymph