Well, not really sampling, but cleaning up some of the shoreline in front of the house this weekend. We raked 70-80 yards of FA and coontail out of the pond and filled a pickup bed over the top. Here are some of the things we found in the vegetation. Damselfly larva and small midge larva were the most abundant type of invertebrates found.

Dragonfly Larva & DamselfLy Larva (and the minature "BUG" in right hand corner )


Damselfly larva and Bloodworm (large midge larva)


This might be a first on pond boss, I don't recall anyone ever posting a picture of a scud they caught from their pond. I believe that this is the smaller Hyalella Azteca type of scud.

Scud picture #1


Scud picture #2

Anyone know what this might be? It reminded me of the "BUG" from the movie Men in Black.


Damselfly larva & backswimmer

Whatever happens, Shorty, keep him on THIS planet.

Really neat pics.

Shorty, please go ahead and use a dime for size reference and then call it a quarter, as Condello typically does, when trying to demonstrate size.

Sunil, maybe this will help for size reference, the scud is in the picture too.

ROTHFLMAO!!!!!!!!!! That outta get some kinda reply...dontcha think?

Shorty,

Based on some of the evident morphological characters, I say you're mystery insect is a species of Stonefly larvae. Additionally, the first photo also has a couple of dragonfly larvae (the larger two). You must have excellent water quality!!

Shawn he just has a lot of plants for the bugs and inverts to hide in.

BTW nice bugs Shorty.

nice close up pics and good bug lesson too.

Could be Shawn, if you look at the bottom right hand corner of the very first picture you will see a second mystery insect that is the exactly the same but just 1/3 the size of the bigger stonefly larvae. In addition if look closely in the second picture just above one end of the blood worm you can see where the smaller mystery insect may have shed it's exo-skeleton while it was in the jar.



And here I thought it was because of the all the coontail we have everywhere.

Oh, yes! I took a closer look and see what you are describing. I have even more confidence about it being a stonefly.

By the way, next time you collect a dragonfly larvae, reach under its "chin" and pull (unfold) its lower "jaw". It's pretty amazing at how far the lower mouth will extend. It's basically on a double hinge that enables it to extend way out. Once you do this and see what I'm talking about, it's not hard to believe that these larvae can actually catch and eat many types of living food items.....including little, larval fish.

Dragonfly larvae can obviously move around using their legs, but if you look at the posterior end of the critter, you'll notice a unique structure that allows it to move by means of jet propulsion. It can literally shoot water out its........well, you get the picture!!

Saw on a previous post that you will be fishing Bilby Ranch. Bass sizes there are really good right now. The monster bluegill and redear are decreasing. Gizzard shad have recently found their way into the lake. It is thought that they were introduced from a contaminated channel catfish stocking. Bad news for the panfish.

A contour map does exist for the lake. Call 816-271-3100 and ask for Tory. He is the biologist that manages that lake. Tell him I sent you, and he'll get you a map. Shawn

Wow! Great pics and an excellent reminder of how little I know. hehe

One bug expert thinks my mystery "BUG" might be a predacious Diving Beetle Larva known as "Water Tiger". I'm glad I picked the "Water Tiger" up by the tail instead of the head, I thought it looked like it could have a nasty bite. A different bug expert I know thinks it might also be some sort of stonelfy larva.

Here is a link to a picture of a Water Tiger, it sure looks like the picture matches to me. Do I get credit for catching a Water Tiger by the tail?

http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/bugsfaq/diving.htm

Shawn, thanks for the heads up on Bilby Ranch.

I think your other bug expert is correct. I dusted off my old aquatic entomology text to confirm. You'll notice the two cerci (tail like appendages) on the rear of the insect. This is usually a good indication of stoneflies, but I was dead wrong in this case. Man, I'm rusty. Thanks for posting. Good luck at Bilby. Let me know how you do. Shawn