Now we've got the pond dipping up and running, I've been doing some research on the pond life you might find. We have a range of creatures in our pond including smooth newts, water boatman, lots of sticklebacks, diving beetles, freshwater shrimp and dragonfly nymphs. All of these animals are amazing in different ways. Dragonfly nymphs can live for up to 5 years before they're ready to become adult dragonflies and are quite fierce predators, hunting other aquatic invertebrates with their extendable jaws. Water boatman have long hairy hind legs to help them glide through the water. Diving beetles spend a lot of time in the water but can fly. They usually fly at night and use the reflection of moonlight to find new water sources. Why not come along and see what amazing creatures you can find?!
Water boatman (Chris Shields, rspb-images.com)