I know last week’s puzzler was super hard. But I thought it was a fascinating find and wanted to share it with you. It is a dark serrated fishfly, (Nigronia spp.) Like many other insects it begins its life in water, living under rocks and debris in a stream or river before transforming into a winged adult.
This insect is related to another insect called a dobsonfly, which is what someone guessed. You are very close! These two are cousins, with the dobsonfly being a bit larger. I featured the dobsonfly as weekly puzzler #119.
Here’s a dobsonfly. Dobsonfly adults can be 3 inches long, whereas the fishfly is only .78inches – 1.18 inches long:
This insect, like the dobsonfly, takes 1- 5 years before becoming winged adults. They feed on algae and small invertebrates while in the water and then, as adults, don’t feed at all. They are attracted to lights in the night, so if you’re out mothing, you might attract some of these!
Happy weekend!