Marsh Water

A jar of marsh water yielded hundreds of these larvae recently. Having previously been the proud Mama of a damselfly that I raised from a nymph I thought that these were damsel larvae too.

Until I took a better look at the picture this morning and decided that these were a different insect altogether. What clued me in were those gills on the abdomen segments---I don't believe that damsels have them but mayflies do and it's about the right time for a mayfly hatch.

And this explains why there were so many of these critters climbing around the marsh---it's going to be a huge hatch this year; better than any I've seen.

       

A tablespoon of Wetland

This is what a tablespoon of springtime wetland water looks like. A month or two ago it was clear. Now microscopic creatures have begun the cycle of life and nearly every speck in the picture will become an insect, snail, or other creature with aquatic beginnings. Most of the specs are midges---tiny insects that begin life in water. Some are the beginnings of this May's mayflies. There's also a very tiny snail to the left of center.

Most of these creatures will be the bottom of the food chain and will feed frogs, dragonflies, and birds. This is the beginning of life's cycle for the year---in a tablespoon of pond water in the wetland.