At this time of year, we do a lot of dipping. Not skinny dipping. Not ice cream dipping. Pond dipping! We like to show the kids what kinds of critters live in the ponds. In the spirit of Tom’s Collective Naturalist posts (1, 2, 3), I won’t tell you what these are… Instead… You tell me!! (Common names are close enough! And for some – a generic name is close enough…)
There are only five, this time…
1
2
3
4
5
Good luck! Look for the answers after 8pm EST on May 25th.
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1. catfish??
2. water strider
3. mayfly nymph?
4. water bug?
5. dragonfly nymph?
1) Catfish
2) “Skeeter eater”
3) imm. dragonfly?
4) ?
5) ?
I love these guessing game posts 🙂
I think number 1 is what we used to call a “pout” when we were kids …
I’ll second Nina’s guesses, but add that the water strider is Gerris sp., mayfly nymph looks like (based on Kaufman’s guide) a “primitive minnow mayfly” (Ameletus sp.), and the dragonfly nymph is a skimmer. Not sure about the water bug, perhaps Abedus indentatus? Is there anything else besides the giant water bugs that lays their eggs on the back of the male? Oh, and the plant with the bug is duckweed, probably Lemna minor. I love the catfish, did you really manage to snag that guy just by dipping? How’d the kids do? 🙂
1. catfish
2. water strider
3. damselfly naiad
4. water bug (those guys bite!) with duckweed – either Lemna or Spirodela sp.
5. dragonfly naiad
I do love my icecream this time of the year but for sure Pond Dipping is also fun! Great little lesson you did here!