Lesser diving beetle larva Acilius eating Backswimmer Notonecta nymph

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the strange looking larva of the lesser diving beetle Acilius sp. (probably sulcatus) swimming around in a pond. I quick went and got a net and caught one, before taking it inside to photography in my aquarium set up. It is a fairly distinctive larvae with its…

Water louse, bloodworm, Rhantus suturalis diving beetle and Limnephilus rhombicus caddisfly larva

Some more of the pond photos from January. Most of these have had some dust and dirt cloned out of them and a couple, notably the following photo, has had the background touched up. The first photos are of a water louse or slater. They are the aquatic relative of the woodlouse. They are often…