Beadhead Prince Nymph

Back swimmers are closely related to water boatmen, but they swim upside down, and are fierce predators rather than peaceful herbivores. They are so bright they're almost white rather than the dark colors of the less bold boatmen. They also depend on atmospheric oxygen, and take in a bubble of air, hold it under their wings and along their bodies. But they hang in the surface film, waiting for prey to pass beneath them, more often than they forage in the vegetation. As a consequence, they're white on the back, as camouflage against the sky, rather than dark olive, camouflage against aquatic plants. They're the same beetle-like shape, and have the same strong rowing hind legs. They often swim boldly, on the hunt, through the open water of lakes and ponds. This last habit gets them into trouble with trout. Back swimmers overwinter as adults, and are available to trout in mature sizes, 10 to 14, in late fall, through winter, and into early spring, when most other insects are inactive. They have no emergence, as such, though the do have occasional dispersal flights.