Worm found inside frogbit leaf

[fishlearn]

Hi,

I just found that there is a worm living inside the frogbit leaf.

How I found the worm:-
I looked for swollen frogbit leaves.
Broke these leaves into half, and there will be a worm inside the leaf.

It appears that the worm is eaten the insides of the leaf, causing the frogbit to break into small bits and die off.

Are these worms harmful?
They are about the size of 1 mosquito larvae.

[Urban Aquaria]

Any photo of the worm? Sound like it could be an aquatic caterpillar, or maybe even some sort of terrestrial caterpillar/maggot (since the frogbits is floating plant).

[Trichopsis]

Most likely an aquatic caterpillar similar to Parapoynx:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/...iminutalis.htm

[fishlearn]

I do not have a photo of the worm, because I fed it to the fish.
Was just curious how such a thing could have happened.

After reading the link, i think it is an aquatic caterpillar.
The picture looks the same.

Still wondering how it managed to get into my frogbit...

[Urban Aquaria]

Yeah, usually the worms or caterpillar hitchhike in as eggs attached to the plants... or an insect happened to visit your tank and laid the eggs there.

I occasionally find interesting flying insects perched on the floating plants in my tanks too, guess its just the natual ecosystem at work.