other pondlife ln wildlife gardens

What else lives in a pond? ake a magnifying glass to any well-established pond and you will see that every smear of mud, snip of plant and cup of water is teeming with wildlife.

There are aquatic insects, such as the mayfly and caddis fly, as well as invertebrates (animals without a backbone), such as leeches, water stick insects, water snails and water boatmen. Even more types of creature are to be found living in and around streams and brooks. 

STUDYING PONDLIFE

If you are looking for a fascinating year-round interest, get a scoop net, a sketch book, a diary, plenty of pencils, plenty of different-sized containers, a good pair of rubber boots, and a digital camera. You need to have a chair and table down by the pond, and a little shed or hide. Start by making regular visits and by recording observations in the diary

Make sure there are several vantage points around the pond, so you can always see the water, plants and creatures to

Corixa spp (Water Boatman)

A brown-gold-black, beetle-like invertebrate that scuds about on the surface of pond water. It grows to a length of about 1 cm (½ in). These creatures look like little boats skimming across the water’s surface. They are so buoyant that they hardly dent the surface tension of the water. They eat plant detritus and algae.

Lymnaea stagnalis (Great Pond Snail)

A largish, brown-green snail, 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) in length, which eats watery debris, fish waste and algae. There are many other types of still-water snail. If there is an imbalance in your pond and the numbers of snails get out of hand – to the point where the plants begin to suffer – lure them with floating cabbage leaves, and put them on the bird table.

Phryganis spp ( Caddis Fly)

Brown-grey in colour, the caddis fly spends most of its life in the water as a larva before emerging as a large, moth-like, flying insect. The larvae live at the bottom of the pond in little cases made from leaves, sticks and pond debris. The larvae are often used by fishermen to bait their hooks.