whirligig beetle?

[Crow]

my son wants to add a couple of whirligig beetles that he caught to his container garden. all I see on their diet is that they eat other insects and larvae, but we both wonder if they would hurt his two small goldfish? the smaller of the two fish is only a couple of inches long.

We wonder if a predatory beetle, lacking sufficient quantities of the usual fare may turn to other options. experience or thoughts?

 

[adavisus]

Whirligigs are fierce wee beasties, competing for any small wiggly thing that drops on the water surface

If a tiny tiddler or tadpole was struggling at the surface they or something else will mop it up

Regards, andy
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[Crow]

ok thanks. he has about four tadpoles in there that he caught from another pond and he says he'd rather have toads than whirligigs.

thanks!

 

[adavisus]

I doubt whirligigs will bother any healthy tadpole or fish, they would contribute to improving water quality for tadpoles by mopping up insects that would otherwise rot, infest, pollute the water. Consider them the skeeter swat squad.

Regards, andy
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[Crow]

He added the one beetle. The other flew away. This one it seems is sticking around. We just fed it a fly that we had stunned with a swatter. It came out right away and clobbered it.

 

[adavisus]

Yup, it can be quite entertaining if you are not of a squemish disposition, to see how long it takes for same winged bug to last when dropped on the water surface

If it lasts as much as a minute, the queue of contestants can be like a gladiator contest, with water spiders, dragonfly larvae, whirligigs, pondskaters cautiously stalking toward the vibration from the fly...

Regards, andy
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[Crow]

that's a cool pic.

One lived in the pot for a few days. They were discovered at the neighbors' pond. More food potential..