Dragonfly nymph

[judypower]

I was fishing out some blanket weed from my pond today and found a dragonfly nymph quite unlike any I've seen before. It was twice as big as the usual dark nymphs and was a pale yellowy green, with what looked like tufts sticking out of the sides of its head. I very quickly put it back in the water as it was thrashing about so didn't have time to take a photo. Can anyone help me to identify it please?

[Ukwildlifeo]

When you say 'bigger' do you mean a similar width but longer?

[judypower]

No, as big in width as in length

[Red Robin]

Originally Posted by judypower

found a dragonfly nymph quite unlike any I've seen before. It was twice as big as the usual dark nymphs and was a pale yellowy green, with what looked like tufts sticking out of the sides of its head. I very quickly put it back in the water as it was thrashing about so didn't have time to take a photo. Can anyone help me to identify it please?

....Are you sure that the smaller nymphs you've seen before were Dragonflies and not the smaller Damselfly nymphs (about 25mm max)?

About how long was its body?

Tufts and thrashing brings a young newt to mind but I'm sure you'd know that kind of difference.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Its possible that you have been seeing darter dragonfly nymphs before which are smaller than the chaser or skimmer nymphs I suspect you may have seen this time.

Take a look at this thread. Im pretty sure on the IDs now since checking after I posted: Dragonfly nymphs

Did it look like any of these?

[judypower]

No, it didn't look like any of those and it definitely wasn't a newt - it was the size and colour I've never seen before in the pond. We've lots of different smaller size nymphs, and masses of newts, so I'm quite familiar with those. I wish I'd photographed it now.

Thank you for trying