Hi Christine -- I really like this drawing of a diving water boatman. I live in Sussex County, Delaware, which is near the ocean and has lots of interesting aquatic habitats (bogs, streams, ponds, brackish habitats). Over the past week or so, I dip netted a big, mature Green Darner larva, measuring 50 mm, and an elver (an immature American eel), measuring approximately 55 mm. (I posted pictures of the two animals on BugGuide, if you want to check them out. I frassed the elver because it's not a bug, but you can see it among my images.) The place where I caught the darner was about a 5-minute walk from the place where I caught the elver, so it's quite possible that the two animals could encounter each other in the wild. (Elvers really get around -- they hatch from the Sargasso Sea and migrate up on the Gulf Stream, then enter freshwater coastal habitats along the eastern seaboard of the US, where they mature over many years. Eventually they return to the ocean and migrate back down to the Sargasso Sea, where they mate and die.) I was thinking that an encounter between an elver and a mature green darner naiad would make an interesting painting. I'm not sure which of the two critters would have the advantage -- elvers eat aquatic larvae, and darner naiads eat about anything, including tadpoles and small fish. I suspect the darner would have the advantage, because of its body mass. I know elvers are nocturnal. I think darners are, too, but I'm not sure. If you're interesting, I'd be happy to send you some additional JPEGs of the elver I caught (although the photos are pretty poor because he flew around nonstop. He was extraordinarily graceful. After photographing him, I returned him to his stream.) The elver had some interesting coloration. It's almost impossible to find a decent, color picture of an elver, what to speak of a far-out encounter between these two impressive critters. Good luck with your art.

Best wishes, Cat

I'm enjoying your work. What medium(s)do you use?