 Greater
Water Boatman
Feeds on the surface swimming upside down with
needle like mouth parts for piercing prey insects
that land on water surface.
Size: up to 16mm
|
 Lesser
Water Boatman
Swims face down scrabbling food from the
sediment at the bottom of the pond. Uses mouth
parts to suck up organic debris and algae.
Size: up to 12mm
|
 Ramshorn
Snail
Coiled shell and feeds on algae and rotting
plant material.
Size: up to 30mm diameter
|
 Common
Pond Snail
Shell spirals to a point. As Ramshorn snail
lays eggs in gelly lines of around 500 eggs under
leaves.
Size: up to 50mm
|
 Great
Diving Beetle (larvae)
Predator of small fish, tadpoles and other
invertebrates in the pond.
Size: up to 50mm long.
|
 Great
Diving Beetle
Adult beetle caries a bubble of air over its
body to allow it to dive to the bottom of the pond
for food.
Size: up to 30mm long.
|
 Water
Scorpion
Does not have a sting in its tail but in fact
this tail is a breathing tube. Uses pincer like
front legs to grab prey such as tadpoles and other
small insects.
Size: up to 35mm long.
|
 Daphnia
Also known as water flea. Uses antennae to
drag food particles floating in the water to its
mouth which makes the animal appear to jump.
Size: up to 3mm.
|
 Water
Louse
Feeds on the bottom of the pond by shredding
dead and decaying matter. Looks very similar to
its land based cousin the Wood louse
Size: up to 13mm.
|
 Fresh
Water Shrimp
Feeds similarly to Water Louse above but swims
through water rather than walks along bottom.
Prefers much cleaner water to the Water louse.
Size: up to 25mm.
|
 Dragonfly
Larvae
Dragon flies spend the majority of their lives
under water and only gain wings for a short while
as adults to mate. The Larvae are predators with a
hinged jaw allowing them to grab passing prey.
Size: depends on species up to 80mm.
|
 Blood
Worm
Live in mud and silt at bottom of the pond
where oxygen levels are low. Red colouring is due
to blood which allows them to attract oxygen to
live. They are not in fact worms but the larvae of
a midge.
Size: up to 20mm.
|
