unidentified pondlife (1 Viewer)

CWH

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Been happy-snapping a miniature watersnail in the pond, back looking at the photos & see I've been photobombed.
Can anybody tell me what the li'l critter lurking under the snail is please? (snail is size of a small peanut)

IMG_3637.JPG
 
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CWH

CWH

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Possibly a Cadis fly larvae.
..... so I looked on google images and I now feel all itchy .....
Quite possible though @Shrimp63 because I also found this pic there, and I've certainly seen some of these around; thank you.

med-p1816pf4bmkun1s5714g71k259ou4.jpg
 
Feb 24, 2013
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Larvae of some kind, we used to have a large aquarium and after replenishing the plants noticed this god awful thing in the bottom of the tank, turned out to be a dragon fly larvae, about the size of my thumb, scared the life out of me :)
 
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CWH

CWH

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Phew! I thought the thread was being addressed to Funsters till I read it!

Wyn
Oh that did make me laugh :rofl::rofl::rofl: thanks Wyn

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CWH

CWH

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Fairly sure it's a dragonfly nymph
ok, thank you ..... any advance on caddisfly or dragonfly?
I can see I need to try to get a clearer picture!
p0707.gif
 

DBK

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If it isn't very big, say no more than about an inch it is probably a Damselfly larva, which are just little Dragonflies. If it is much bigger then more likely to be a Dragonfly larva. Given the time of year it will be over-wintering and might emerge next year.

Do a Google search for "damselfly larva image" then the same again for Dragonflies. Some of the larger ones are voracious predators and will attack minnows and baby fish.

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CWH

CWH

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Of course I bow to all your better knowledge & experience; but I'm not sure I can see any sticky-out eyes in my photo?
 

DBK

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Of course I bow to all your better knowledge & experience; but I'm not sure I can see any sticky-out eyes in my photo?
Good point, looking again I think I can see jaws - which on a dragonfly or damselfly larva are hidden and shoot out - think Alien! I suspect now it is a water beetle larva of some sort.

gdb.jpg

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CWH

CWH

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JAWS!!! It's only a little pond .....

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DBK

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I've tried tweaking the image a bit. Not sure it helps much but the eyes and one jaw seem slightly clearer.

IMG_3637.jpg
 
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CWH

CWH

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From November 2013
Just been out to have a look at the pond hoping to get a clearer shot, but there's no sign of anything bigger than an eyelash in there at the moment.
Is this monster likely to have eaten my new snail?

@DBK that is a bit clearer, thank you, it does look like the water beetle.

What about @Shrimp63 's idea of a caddisfly larva?

I can see eyes in the original photo.
Mmm, but not sticking out sideways like a hammerhead shark or dragon/ damselfly like in post 10 (see, can't get away from the JAWS image now!)
 

DBK

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Just been out to have a look at the pond hoping to get a clearer shot, but there's no sign of anything bigger than an eyelash in there at the moment.
Is this monster likely to have eaten my new snail?

@DBK that is a bit clearer, thank you, it does look like the water beetle.

What about @Shrimp63 's idea of a caddisfly larva?


Mmm, but not sticking out sideways like a hammerhead shark or dragon/ damselfly like in post 10 (see, can't get away from the JAWS image now!)
If it gets bigger then yes! http://www.uk-wildlife.co.uk/great-silver-water-beetle-larva-feeding-on-wandering-pond-snail/
Just hope it isn't the larva of a dytiscus water bettle. They are about the most ferocious small thing you could have in your pond. As a child I mixed some adult dytiscus beetles with goldfish in an aquarium. The goldfish were all ex-goldfish by the following morning! The larvae are even hungrier apparently. Look up dytiscus marginalis or Great Diving Beetle - but not late at night in a darkened room!
 
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CWH

CWH

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From November 2013
Sorry @DBK but I'm not going to "like" that post - not only do you tell me my lovely little snail's now probably an ex-snail, but looking at the pictures has right put me off ... well ... everything! Eeeyukh. (I know, nature red in tooth & claw & all that, but I like puppies & baby birds & NICE things like that :rolleyes:)

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Shrimp

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I'm sure it's a Dragonfly or Mayfly larvae, it doesn't have the bulging eyes but does have the jaws! Voracious eaters, (not a lot is safe in the pond) in all states of growth, but lovely to see when they hatch out into the 'flies'!
When they 'hatch' the Dragonfly leaves his 'husk' behind on stalks of reeds etc, fascinating to find!
 
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JeanLuc

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It looks like the larva of Dytiscus (the Great Diving Beetle). If so, it should be about 2 inches long or more if fully grown. We used to get them in our pond but they have not been present for several years now. Fascinating things to watch and they are ferocious feeders - competing with and beating large Hawker Dragon Fly larvae for the top spot. Ours used to thrive on a diet of tadpoles mainly, but they will also eat small fish (Sticklebacks and Minnows in the wild).
 
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CWH

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From November 2013
I think @DBK 's improvement on my picture suggests the water beetle thing, the eyes, jaws & leg placement.
Maybe that's why we haven't seen many froglets this year (though loads of taddies - they're looking a bit lethargic at the moment)
I shall have to keep looking for the Monster & try to catch it in a poly box or something for a closer look. If there's one, are there likely to be many?

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