Is this critter a dragonfly nymph or something else?

[Mmathis]

Last night we had a lot of rain, so I had to drain water [via the Skippy] to keep the pond from over flowing any more than it already was -- and I mean, the rain was coming down in 55 gallon barrels, fast & heavy!

I like to put quilt batting where the water drains out so I can catch and rescue tadpoles. I saw this "bug" and decided to rescue it as well -- hey, everything deserves a chance! A little while later I looked AND THE BUG HAD CAPTURED AND WAS EATING ONE OF MY TADDIES!!! The taddies eventually went back in the pond, but this carnivore went into another container where I throw stuff from the bottom of the pond -- think like a compost pile, but wet.

It didn't look like the other pre-dragonflies I've seen -- what is it? Just another stage in development?

It was interesting to watch -- could see it moving the tadpole around as it was munching, until there was no more tadpole . I was able to observe this via the "macro" function on my iPhone camera [it's an add-on camera, not the original] -- I just watched until I was ready to snap a shot.

 

[Dave 54]

Doesnt look like one Maggie I always thought them to be longer than that .

Dave

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Not a Dragonfly or Damselfly nymph. Does appear to be the larval stage of some insect.

EDIT: On second thought, it may be a Dragonfly nymph, just a specie that is uncommon in your area (and mine).

 

[Dave 54]

Well I could find nothing like it in my Observers Pond Life book but thats geared to the UK so would be useless for IDing species from America
The nearest thing I could find that might be a candidate for this mug shot would be the True Bug of which there are about 11,000 species in North America alone.
They use their beak-like mouthparts to pierce and penetrate prey, injecting them with digestive enzymes.
Then these enzymes break down the tissue so that the prey's juices can be sucked out.
Both nymphs and adults are predaceous, feeding on a range of aquatic insects and crustaceans but I can find no mention of tadpoles
Then we have the Beetle Larvae
Now Beetle larvae can be herbivores, scavengers, or predators herbivorous larvae eat only plants they eat aquatic vegetation such as algae, roots, and leaves, they may also suck juices from the stems of plants.
Then theres scavenger Larvae which feed on decomposing organic material that has been deposited, scavenged material can come from aquatic vegetation, feces, or other organisms that have died.
Then there are the preditory larvae that are predators feed on other invertebrates.
The adult beetles have strong specialized feeding appendages called 'mandibles on the sides of their mouths.and these are used to to catch and hold prey. Smaller invertebrates may also be swallowed whole.
Some species of beetles also have specialized piercing/sucking mouth parts that they use to inject their prey with special chemicals called 'enzymes',these enzymes can break down the body tissue of the preyand by liquifying the body tissue, the can suck out the insides of the prey animal.
These mouth parts can also be found on some herbivorous beetle species, which use them for sucking out plant juices.
Large adults of the predatory suborder Adephaga can catch and kill tadpoles and small fish.
see link:-




http://www.ecospark.ca/changingcurrents/truebug

I hope this helps you figure out which one it is Maggie

Dave

 

[The PondFather]

I don't recognize it but hopefully someone will. Just wanted to compliment you on the post. GREAT pics. This activity goes on 24/7 in most of our ponds but we don't get to see it, so thanks for sharing. It's like the African jungle but on a microscale!

 

[The PondFather]

Here are some tadpoles from a neighbors pond. I was helping him get it started after fixing a stream leak and ran across a zillion tadpoles or toadpoles. I thought it was interesting how soon these guys started sprouting legs and some I picked up hopped out of my hands back into the pond.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

And then again...is there such a thing as 3rd thought...could this be the same critter?

Saucer bug!

 

[Dave 54]

My money is on these :-

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151318/

Dave

 

[johan]

I'm a wannabe part time insect nerd (through my photography). My money would have to be on a libellulidae instar. An instar is a stage in an insect's development (insects go through various instar, for example google ladybird instar to see how different they can be to the final product). Libellulidae instar seem to have an instar stage like this - maybe Pachydiplax longipennis, "Pachydiplax longipennis", which is quite common in the US.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I'm a wannabe part time insect nerd (through my photography). My money would have to be on a libellulidae instar. An instar is a stage in an insect's development (insects go through various instar, for example google ladybird instar to see how different they can be to the final product). Libellulidae instar seem to have an instar stage like this - maybe Pachydiplax longipennis, "Pachydiplax longipennis", which is quite common in the US.

You may well be correct, johan. My gut still tells me that it an Odonata.

 

[Dave 54]

You may well be correct, johan. My gut still tells me that it an Odonata.

Check out this bug guide he may well be right :-

http://bugguide.net/node/view/13657/bgimage

What do you think Meyer ?
Dave

 

[Mmathis]

@Dave 54 for post #4 -- Thanks, Dave! I was eating some popcorn while reading this....now all I can think about is exoskeletons.......and ooooo, that squishy part -- was it extra butter, or.......

@The PondFather Thank you for the compliment, and I agree about nature -- brutal but fascinating! And your taddy's got legs! [but I forever and always DO NOT LIKE FIRE ANTS!!]

@Meyer Jordan Could be. It did sort of have the look that it had lights strung around the edge of its body like the guy in the pic.

@johan Please speak English -- not Latin.... (Just kidding -- I'll just look them up.....)

OK, now to follow all the links you guys have given me, and......I'll be back!

 

[Mmathis]

In the meantime, here are some more pix I took. It was night when this all happened, so I was trying to illuminate the scene with my flashlight -- whatever I could do, LOL! I hope the images don't degrade too much from cropping.

 

[Mmathis]

And I might add -- I don't really like bugs [insects] except for the beneficiial things they do. I like butterflies and preying mantis'. This is kinda gross.....looking at the links.....I'm gonna have bad dreams tonight!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

SOoooooo many possibilities in the many genera of the suborder Anisoptera. Even the genera have regional variations.
Accept that it is a Dragonfly nymph, Mmathis. We may never arrive at an accurate genus.