Our newly built (just under a year old) pond is overrun with backswimmers but I am unsure if they are OK and won't harm anything or should I be doing something to control their numbers? We have no fish in the pond but we do have 5 newts and recently there are about 8 efts of varying sizes and my worry is they will eat them! Will the backswimmers harm anything else in the pond ? I'm in the UK.
Overrun with backswimmers
- Thread starter Rae
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Welcome to our group!
This is what the net says..............
Water Backswimmer "Notonectids"
(True Bug)
My Home: I am often confused with the Water Boatmen
insect, however I can give a stinging painful bite.
The easiest way to tell us apart is I swim on my
back (upside down). I am found in freshwater ponds,
slow moving streams, lakes that have aquatic plants
that I can cling to.
What I eat: I eat other insects, small fish, and even
tadpoles. I have tube shaped piercing mouth parts. I use
my short front legs to grab and attack my prey with a
stinging bite. I use my saliva to dissolve my food so I can
suck it through my tube shaped mouth parts.
What I look like: My body is dark, and less than 1/2".
My back is oval shaped much like a boat hull, which
enables me to swim on my back. I have 6 legs; 2 short
front legs and my back legs are long. I carry my air
supply with me as a small bubble in my shell. I have
wings and fly at night because I am attracted to artificial
light.
How I am born: I go through three stages of development: egg,
nymph and adult. My egg is usually attached to underwater plants.
I hatch into a nymph and will molt to reach my adult form receiving my wings
in the last molt. It takes me around 6 weeks to go from egg to adult. I can
live up to a year and even under ice as long as there is food to eat and air bubbles to breath.
This is what the net says..............
Water Backswimmer "Notonectids"
(True Bug)
My Home: I am often confused with the Water Boatmen
insect, however I can give a stinging painful bite.
The easiest way to tell us apart is I swim on my
back (upside down). I am found in freshwater ponds,
slow moving streams, lakes that have aquatic plants
that I can cling to.
What I eat: I eat other insects, small fish, and even
tadpoles. I have tube shaped piercing mouth parts. I use
my short front legs to grab and attack my prey with a
stinging bite. I use my saliva to dissolve my food so I can
suck it through my tube shaped mouth parts.
What I look like: My body is dark, and less than 1/2".
My back is oval shaped much like a boat hull, which
enables me to swim on my back. I have 6 legs; 2 short
front legs and my back legs are long. I carry my air
supply with me as a small bubble in my shell. I have
wings and fly at night because I am attracted to artificial
light.
How I am born: I go through three stages of development: egg,
nymph and adult. My egg is usually attached to underwater plants.
I hatch into a nymph and will molt to reach my adult form receiving my wings
in the last molt. It takes me around 6 weeks to go from egg to adult. I can
live up to a year and even under ice as long as there is food to eat and air bubbles to breath.
Welcome Rae! I don’t know because I’ve never had your situation. But if I did, here is what I would do: eliminate them with fish or skim them off with a net or the pond skimmer. I think they live on small organisms so eliminating their food source would help but also more than be likely be difficult. If you have green water you might try to clear it up to reduce food sources. Just my best guess! Good luck.
Stephen
Stephen
j.w
I Love my Goldies
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I have those bugs every year. They're normal and natural and will come and go as their food supply allows.
Ours here have a bite that feels like a wasp sting though. Best leave them alone.
Ours here have a bite that feels like a wasp sting though. Best leave them alone.