I.D? - no pic!

[paddy]

Spotted on the stem of curly pond weed today (which was moving about suspiciously!) - two ' things', about 2" long, thin, wriggling - possibly a brownish grey cylindrical case, but the overall impression was lime green - which was the case and which the emergent beastie i don't know. I went out for a couple of hours, and they weren't there when i got back. Had a sort of feathery end to it.... any ideas? Dragonfly/mayfly larvae perhaps?

[Dogghound]

The filamentous tail suggests a nymph of some sort. What was the case?

[paddy]

It was hard to see without disturbing it - greyish, cylindrical was about all i could make out. The whole thing (including emergent) was about 2" and i presume had been attached to the stem of the plant. I looked up a few 'prime contenders' but couldn't find detail on what emerged when - the water still seems particularly cold, so i don't know what triggered it, or what comes out in early April.....

[Dogghound]

If its attatched to the stem its not a nymph, im stumped. It could be anything in April alot of insects overwinter as larva in ponds.

[Lance Morgan]

Damsel Fly Nymph - colours can vary brown/grey/green.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Lance Morgan

Damsel Fly Nymph - colours can vary brown/grey/green.

attatched to a stem in a case?

[Lance Morgan]

Hi Dh
He says presumed attached - always difficult without a pic
Caddis ? perhaps though a bit big at 2".

[Dogghound]

Yes very difficult without a photo, i thought the same about the case but 2inch is big infact its bigger than a large dragonfly nymph

[welsh.lensman]

The only things I can think of that are as large as 2inch are the Larva of the Great silver beetle, and the larva of the Great diving beetle, neither of which has a case, although the Great silver beetle could be mistaken for having a case if viewed from a distance, but there again it does'nt have filiments at the tail.
Perhaps you could google those two suggestions Paddy and see if you recognise any pictures.

[NicolaB]

Spotted on the stem of curly pond weed today (which was moving about suspiciously!) - two ' things', about 2" long, thin, wriggling - possibly a brownish grey cylindrical case, but the overall impression was lime green - which was the case and which the emergent beastie i don't know.

Sounds like it could be a brachycentrid Caddis fly nymph? They're bright green, and attach their cases to stems of plants, although the ones I'm more familiar with live in rivers, on water crowfoot stems. 2inches sounds a bit large though, they're usually less than an inch long...

There's a link to a picture of one here..

http://www.hlug.de/medien/wasser/gew...ref/bramon.jpg