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what the heck….?
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Found about 1/2 dozen of these things in my mothers pond…. Just wondering if anyone can ident them. They range in size from 1cm – 3cm and were killing and eatting the tadpoles ( so they had to go!) They have now been rehoused in a wild pond down theroad.
TIA
Gary H
Larvae of the Great Diving Beetle (Dytiscus marginalis).
They live in freshwater ponds and are fierce carnivores. The large, pointed, sickle-shaped jaws are sunk into the prey like hypodermic needles. Digestive enzymes are pumped into the body of the prey and the resulting ‘soup’ is sucked back up. Great Diving Beetle larvae will eat anything they can catch. Their favourite prey includes tadpoles and any other insects within reach. They are also cannibalistic and will eat other Great Diving Beetle larvae. Large larvae in the final stage before pupation, are of sufficient size to even catch and eat small fish.
The larvae often appear scorpion-like in the water because they move about with their tails extended vertically upwards. They will frequently push the tail up through the water surface to take in atmospheric oxygen through the terminal spiracle (air-hole)
I bet you wish you hadn’t asked.
Cheers. John
Thanks for that Jon- nasty looking beasties! I assume that the great diving beatles are the things I have also seen in the pond.. About 1 – 1.5 inches across, seem to swim with the aid of two oar like apendages?
So I assume that if the bettles are still in there then we can excpect a lot more of the larvae….
GH
That sounds like them. This is the adult:
I have a couple in my pond.
Cheers,
John
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