Freshwater Assassins
6.5
In a freshwater pond, it's "eat or be eaten." A dragonfly larva eats a midge; a water beetle larva eats a damselfly larva. Snail larvae grow. A beetle larva eats one. Up close, we see the eating apparatus of a damselfly larva—with a retractable hook beneath mandibles. Some creatures bite and chew, others suck. A water beetle larva holds on to its prey, injects a poison that turns the victim's insides to soup, and then sucks it dry. We watch one eat a damselfly larvae and then another water beetle larva. Some have ingenious ways to camouflage themselves, like the water scorpion, and to breathe air while hunting under water. Caddisfly larvae hide in debris, then eat.
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Cast
3 people
Jean Painlevé Director
United States release April 21, 2009 · Produced in France · Original title Assassins d'eau douce
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Assassins d'eau douce
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
French
Release dates
Switzerland · August 1, 1947
Locarno Film Festival
United States · April 21, 2009
DVD premiere
France
August 1, 1947 · Premiere · Locarno Film Festival
Greece
February 24, 2008 · Ecocinema Festival
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