Weird spawn?

[julesp600]

I have just been clearing out our pond. We have been in the house a couple of years and done nothing with it before. We had frogs their last year but I haven't seen any spawn this year.....I didn't last year but frogs appeared. While clearing the pond I found some weird white jelly things with red at one part. They look pretty much like gigantic prawn shapes! Not seen anything like them before.

I have added a picture. They are in a B&Q bucket if that helps with the scale....

[Kayleigh]

Welcome to WAB..

Not sure it could be a newt egg it really is the wrong time of year to do anything in a pond as this is the breeding season.
I strongly recommend you do nothing more until the autumn. Oct is a good time before things start to hibernate.
If its greater crested newts then it is illegal to disturb the habitat and breeding area.

Have a look on here..
Froglife

[dampflippers]

If that is a B&Q builders bucket, I would suggest decaying dead frogs. Definitely not spawn. Or something else dead.

[Dogghound]

Look like rotten goldfish.

[julesp600]

Thanks. I was only clearing out some dead leaves and will leave the rest until the Autumn, don't worry. I saw some tadpoles in there so was careful.

Someone else has suggested that they may be larvae either stag beetle or something like. I reckon that is quite likely but don't know!!!

Not dead goldfish, they look wrong for that.

They don't have legs so not dead baby mice as someone else suggested!

Still, I think they are pretty dead.

Anyone else have any more ideas?

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by julesp600

Someone else has suggested that they may be larvae either stag beetle or something like. I reckon that is quite likely but don't know!!!

Stag beetle larvae are found in dead wood not ponds, they are most definitely not stag beetle larvae. Its something thats moldy but might not even be an animal.

[Kayleigh]

Sorry I thought you were doing major pond cleaning at this time of year, and dogghound is right stag beetles/larvae dont live in ponds.

[Suzz14]

they look like the dead frogs I pulled out of my pond - some of the frogs which died were not so decomposed but two of them looked just like that.

[julesp600]

Thanks people, perhaps they are dead frogs then. We did have some in there last year. Can't see any legs though but they are pretty dead!

I will leave the main pond work til the autumn. It will need a good clean and tidy looking at it!

I did wonder about the stag beetle being there but I wondered if they may have fallen in?


Thanks