I was enjoying the life above the Duckweed (Lemnaceae) recently, marveling that I’ve never seen so many Eastern Amberwings (Perithemis tenera).
There were also a few Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis), making more Blue Dashers.
A damselfly of unknown provenance was depositing eggs.
And then, along the edge of the lake, some disturbance from below. There was an agitated simmering, not quite bubbling. I wondered what it might be. Then, rising, a mass of little black fish, tightly clumped together at the surface, swarming over each other, some half out of the water momentarily. They were feasting on something. 
The individual fish visible on the edges of this mass had serious whiskers, barbels, making me think of some kind of catfish. What the hell, I took the plunge.
I’m taking a semi-wild guess that these are Black Bullheads (Ameiurus melas); what do you think?
The barbels are flush to the sides here.
As an added benefit of my open-handed catch and release, the underside of the Duckweed, some of the smallest flowering plants anywhere, is revealed as purple.
Backyard and Beyond 
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