Underwater Spiders

[MissD]

Hi everyone,

this is my first post and I’m hoping someone can help me identify some underwater Spiders living in my pond. I’ve attached a pic of the actual pond and FYI it’s still water without fish. Last year there was a bunch of tadpoles and tiny frogs but none so far this year. I’m unsure if the spiders eat tadpoles or not. Ive done some googling but can’t find these spiders mentioned anywhere so far. They only live underwater and it appears as though when they climb out, they die. There are always spider skeletons on the shorter plants and stems poking out of the water. In fact I’ve never seen a live one above water. (It’s hard to imagine how they got there?) I didn’t notice any when there were many tadpoles around. But maybe I just didn’t see them. I counted at least 30-40 just at the front part of the pond so I can only imagine there are hundreds living there. I’ve attached pics of them alive underwater and a skeleton stuck to a branch, and also one of the pond itself. They are up to 2 inches long with large bodies. Any ideas would be very appreciated! Thanks

 

[JamieB]

Diving bell spiders, and the “skeleton “ is shed skin, indicating they are growing. You probably had a mom with babies take up residence, and they shed their skin as they grow. Sounds scary, but part of nature. Can’t harm you. Now for the scary part, they will eat tadpoles, bugs, and small fish. Any fish under three inches is fair game, which if you ever get fish, you might not mind so much, if they’re breeding. If you want more fish/ breeding activity, you’ll want to remove the fry to a grow out tank that’s free of spiders.

 

[MissD]

Oh wow! Well it could definitely be that... they don’t appear to have any air bubbles on, in, or around them though. I just watched a few videos and the air bubble they use to breath is very visible. The spiders in my pond don’t have that at all though.

 

[mrsclem]

Don't think they are spiders- Looks like dragonfly nymphs. Dragonflys lay eggs on the water and the nymphs grow to adult size, crawl up, hatch and fly away.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I agree with mrsclem. They look like some sort of dragonfly nymph to me, too.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with dragonfly nymphs, we get a lot of them

 

[j.w]

@MissD
Look like dragon fly larvae to me also.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome. Agree with dragonfly!

 

[JamieB]

Sorry, my phone screen wasn’t showing the picture well, so I just went with the spider line of thought. Yeah, nymphs breathe through their rumps. Weird, but true.

This guy is funny, and how I learned about that fact.