Pond life.

Two grandsons (9 and 7) arrived this morning for a two night stay.

A very rainy day but that did not stop some quick dipping in the garden pond.

Here are some of the things they found.
The two creatures on the left are Water Slaters (Asellus aquaticus). These are sometimes called Water Lice and they are indeed watery relatives of the common garden Wood Louse. You may be able to see two white spots on their heads which means they are the common variety. A rarer version has just one spot.

Over on the right hand side is a Newt tadpole.

In between these two is a tiny Phantom Midge Larva or Glassworm. This is a Chaoborus. This is not very sharp as the focus is set for the bottom of the dish and the worm is floating on the surface. You can however see two pairs of black blobs. These are air sacs.

Good practice at looking things up in reference books and then with Professor Google.

Its surprising what you have in the garden when you look.