What have I just found in my pond????

[manxlizzy]

I am desperately trying to find out the identity of some little critters that I have just discovered in the soil right at the edge of my pond....

The soil is very damp and they appeared to be buried about 2 or 3 inches underneath the surface. They are white/cream in colour and about 1 and a half inches long.... the only way I can describe them is like a huge maggot but with 6 legs kind of tucked in underneath them. They have two black eyes that are covered in a see through skin (it really does look like something from one of the alien movies!) Their back is made from a harder material than the rest of their body which almost makes me think it is a grub about to turn into something else?

They wiggle about alot as well! No one here has ever seen them before and I would love to find out if they are going to be beneficial to my pond life or should I start panicking!!!!

Looking forward to hearing from anyone with a suggestion!

Thanks!

[catalaze]

A picture would be good, if you've a digital camera! Assuming you're not being invaded by Things from Outer Space, it does sound like some sort of larva.

Can these Things actually walk about or are they inside a pupal case? Are the bodies segmented? When you say they have 6 legs, do you mean 3 pairs? A number of water insects do pupate in the wet mud at the edge of ponds but they are usually cryptically coloured (not white). Some moths have soil dwelling larvae that look like thick whitish ugly bald caterpillars. In fact they are thick, whitish, ugly, bald caterpillars. Was it dryish soil or really wet?

Sounds pretty unattractive but not harmful!

[Alan]

Hi manxlizzy, and welcome to WAB

The first thing that comes to mind is a Cockchafer Beetle larvae/grub, though I'm not sure if they'd live in waterlogged soil! Try doing a search for these!

Alan

[Imaginos]

Could it be an amphipod of some sort?

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Imaginos

Could it be an amphipod of some sort?

Dont they have more than six legs?

[Imaginos]

Yes they do, but they can sometimes have 3 or 4 pairs of legs much larger than the rest, apart from the number of legs I think amphipod suits the description quite well:"They have two black eyes that are covered in a see through skin; Their back is made from a harder material than the rest of their body". Of course I am wrong occasionally

[manxlizzy]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, unfortunately no camera was available to take a snap, but it does look similar to the cockchafer beetle grub, but with a shorter more tapered tail end and the 6 legs (3 pairs) were more tucked in to the body.

I think it is a beetle grub of some sort after searching through google images for hours, b ut just not sure of the exact type. It was in pretty damp soil on the slope going in to the pond, about 5cm from the edge of the water.

[Mr Mag00]

great diving beetle pupate in mud,sounds about the right size and description.

[pondy]

I have just found this floating in my pond this morning sounds like the same as manxlizzy here are the pics:

[Dan Salter]

that looks to me like a drowned and bloated hawkmoth caterpillar? but i may be wrong