Some aquatic insects will take advantage of any pool of water they can: this larva (mosquito?) was found in the pool contained by a rusted wheelbarrow.

I was at my grandfather’s and noticed his wheelbarrow had accumulated quite a bit of water. I had just been photographing and was a bit spent, but on a whim I took a peek and found what I expected: mosquito larvae. Well, I assume they were mosquito larvae, but I guess they could be something else. What do I know. (Less than I might hope. IDs and corrections always welcome!)

Nevertheless, these things I’ll call mosquitoes for the time being, were like neat little tadpole. They kept moving about in odd, seemingly erratic spasms.

Shooting them was a bit challenging, and I only came up with so-so results. I never really solved the glare of the water, and that was only my secondary concern — not dunking my camera/lens being the primary one. I still managed to dip and dirty my DIY diffuser a bit, but no harm no foul there.

In the end it was still pretty neat to see and photograph them. I’ve been meaning to check some standing water for some time. Happy Monday, folks. I hope your week is getting off to a good start.

P.s. I dumped the wheelbarrow when I was done. A case of “love ’em and leave ’em,” I’m afraid. Well, not really, though.