Sounds like a rather dire "B" movie title doesn't it? I look in my nature pond every day, to see what's arrived (the water skaters arrived about 3 weeks back now but no dizzy whirligig beetles yet) and check out the tadpoles. There seem to be far fewer of them now, but I am guessing that lots have headed out into the deep water, where there is a lot of floating pondweed to hide amongst. Anyway, about 10 days ago there was very dead common newt in the shallows, and I suspect that one of the deadly Dragonfly larva had captured it and sucked it dry of blood, as they do - it was very flat and very white anyways. The tadpoles then began to tuck in and have been nibbling at its little pale corpse every day. Anyway, they had a new victim today. I don't know what did for it, but there was a dead dragonfly larva, and the worm had turned and they were feeding on that! Normally the tadpoles are fair game for the dragonfly larva, which literally suck the lifeblood out of them until they are pale grey in colour . . .
Distant picture of the pond at the top - it's starting to look quite pretty in all its spring finery now and yes, I have rescued the empty pond planter from the deep end, from whence the wind blew it recently.
Your pond is really pretty. I had no idea that dragonfly larvae would (or could!) kill newts.
ReplyDeleteNor did I Rowan, until one year we found a heavily pregnant newt, dieing with a huge "bruise" where the Dragonfly larva was still attached with its pincers, sucking the lifeblood from her. No wonder the little Waterbabies were so frightened of them.
ReplyDelete