Water beetle larvae ID?

NJ100 · #1 (**permalink**) 16-05-2009, 05:39 PM

found several amongst dead leaves in my pond - havent seen these before. Im guessing they are water beetle larvae. Anyone know?

They are around 3cm long, they crawl around the detritus - swimming backwards if alarmed.

schlocky · #2 (**permalink**) 16-05-2009, 06:31 PM

Definitely water beetle larvae - probably 'Dytiscus' genus (Diving beetle) Lucky you! - but they're voracious little beasts, hope you've got lots of tadpoles in your pond, plus damp earth for them to pupate in.

NJ100 · #3 (**permalink**) 19-05-2009, 12:03 AM

I popped one in a large container with a load of leaf litter - just to see if I could identify it properly. Over night it has created a loose home - between two leaves- with what looks like very fine silk strands. There also appear to be strands spanning out from the entrance like a spiders web. whenever another creature, like a water louse, wanders near the entrance - this guy pops out and and tries to grab it.

I now think it may be a predatory caddis-fly larvae, does anyone know otherwise or have any other ideas. cant find any really comprehensive websites to confirm my theory.