Fierce Larva

Whilst observing my aquatic plant specimen in its tray this week, I noticed movement of little 'twigs' on the bottom of the container every now and again. Of course, I had to isolate one and observe it at close quarters. It was a worthwhile endeavor - this is what I saw:

It's a beautiful caddisfly larva - so distinctively striped as to look fierce! It drags a little self-made protective case around with it as it seeks food (detritus and organic matter). Every now and then it protrudes from its tube to grab something to ingest, but it never leaves the casing entirely. Its abdomen is quite long, very similar to that of a caterpillar, but most of it stays hidden in its casing. 

To complete its metamorphosis, it seals up the tube, continues developing to near- adult and then breaks out of the casing, swimming to the surface to complete its final molt before flying away, looking completely different.

Here's a photo from Encyclopedia Britannica that shows an Adult caddisfly.