scary bug in my pond

[maxXx430]

I am cleaning my pond and in my 55 gallon bio filter i find these bugs. there are quite a few of them. they are brown and green in color. what are they?

 

[seandelevan]

Dragonfly larvae?

 

[maxXx430]

you are right. they look just like them. doesnt say they are bad for my pond. so i hope everything is ok.

 

[addy1]

They are good bugs, might eat a real small fry or two, but great predators! they will overwinter as bugs and hatch out next summer as dragon flies. Then the dragon flies will scarf mosquitoes, flies etc and are fun to watch!

 

[Shoestring Ponder]

Here is a pic of their transformation:

:goldfish:

 

[Mmathis]

Glad to know, 'cause if I saw them don't know that I would let then stay otherwise. Those are some creepy looking critters!

 

[pecan]

Funny that is what baby dragonflies look like. I never would have thought they would start out so creepy and end up so cool. Enjoy your flying friends.

 

[j.w]

An ugly little duckling turned into a beautiful swan..............uh, dragonfly anyways :luxlove:

 

[fishin4cars]

Just my two cent of info on this subject. they could be Dragonfly or they could be Damsel fly larvae. Both look very similar. BUT both don't eat the same in the pond or when flying. Dragon fly nymphs can actually catch and kill fish up to a full inch in size, they also eat tadpoles, snails, and anything else they can catch that is living. usually in a well balanced pond they do very little damage to the fish and plants that we add. It's the stuff born in the pond that has the biggest worries. Damsel fly larvae very seldom eat fish or tadpoles from my understanding. they prefer other aquatic larvae such as mosguito, dragonfly's, midgefly, etc. they are the balancer of the insect world I guess you would say. BTW, love the pics of the morphing or emeging of the adult!

 

[addy1]

Well one way to have fry population control! They don't seem to be affecting my population of trap doors, finding a ton of tiny ones. Maybe they are eating the other snails hanging around.

 

[fishin4cars]

Addy, they are opportunist feeders. they sit and wait for something they can reach out and grab. They aren't going to waste a lot of energy chasing a fish down and it many cases may pas by on a snail if there is other food available. I think your pond is probably so well balanced that you pretty much have a complete working eco system. A few missing snails, a few snagged goldfish, a tadpole here or there isn't going to be missed.

 

[addy1]

lol larkin, i could lose a bunch of stuff and never miss a thing. Everybody lives in happy harmony, eat if hungry ow share the water!

 

[climbingspider]

Just my two cent of info on this subject. they could be Dragonfly or they could be Damsel fly larvae. Both look very similar. BUT both don't eat the same in the pond or when flying. Dragon fly nymphs can actually catch and kill fish up to a full inch in size, they also eat tadpoles, snails, and anything else they can catch that is living. usually in a well balanced pond they do very little damage to the fish and plants that we add. It's the stuff born in the pond that has the biggest worries. Damsel fly larvae very seldom eat fish or tadpoles from my understanding. they prefer other aquatic larvae such as mosguito, dragonfly's, midgefly, etc. they are the balancer of the insect world I guess you would say. BTW, love the pics of the morphing or emeging of the adult!

Those pics are dragonlfy nymphs. Damselflies are skinnier. (Sorry, I'm an entomologist so I wanted to clarify). Either could eat tiny fish, but are more likely to go for other insects and smaller, safer prey.