Underwater Insects

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Ozark Ozark, MO(Zone 6a) Sep 03, 2012

Our pond hasn't held water for several years, but last week I had it dug out and packed down with a bulldozer - hopefully it will hold again now. The remains of the Gulf hurricane gave us enough rain on Saturday to leave about 8 inches of water in the pond, but not enough to get water running to fill it. I'm concerned about it hosting mosquitoes at this stage, so I looked at the water today - and I was surprised to find it already has a lot of underwater insects though I have no idea what they are.

I'm a fisherman so I've seen these all my life around the edges of fresh water lakes and ponds. They're very fast-moving (no way I can get a picture), they stay on the bottom in shallow water, and they stay hidden until they dart, quickly, from under one pebble or piece of mud on the bottom to another. These darting movements are fast and jerky (not in a straight line) and under 6 inches in length. The critter itself appears round or oval in shape, dark in color, and maybe a little less than 1/4" in size.

All this summer, until four days ago, this pond was bone dry, so I can only assume the insect's eggs were in the soil from the last time there was water. I think these are interesting "bugs", do you know what they are? Thanks.

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Flapdoodle Minot, ND Sep 04, 2012

Definitely need a net to capture some of them so you can photograph them?

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themoonhowl Prairieville, LA(Zone 9a) Sep 04, 2012


I know I have seen something similar, but it stayed on the surface of the water.
This message was edited Sep 5, 2012 7:15 PM

This message was edited Sep 5, 2012 7:16 PM

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