Hello all,
Can you tell me what kind of bug this is? I took them from a lake. Here are some characteristics:
They are distinctly segmented with a two-tone color on top and bottom. They have smooth segments with no apparent gills, or filaments. They have two forked tails that are TINY. They have three separate, prominent legs protruding from the first 3 segments. Thanks everyone.
Jude
Late to bed,
Early to Rise,
Guide all day,
Tie more flies!
www.customflys.com
Jude,
Sort of hard to tell with the pictures you have…They help alot but I can’t be conclusive. According to a book I have they look like “The Larva of a diving beetle. They are highly predacious, are often called water tigers (Dytiscidea).”
Hope this helps,
John G.
Albuquerque, NM
I’d say you nailed it Fishnfool.
Here’s some links:
[url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/WfHC/Dytiscidae/:5fa66]http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/WfHC/Dytiscidae/[/url:5fa66]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dytiscidae:5fa66]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dytiscidae[/url:5fa66]
Joe
Jude-
[url=http://flyfishingentomology.com/Beetle.htm:22689]Predacious Diving Beetle[/url:22689] as John and Joe have indicated.
Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:22689]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:22689]
Now for the most important question .
Do trout eat em ??
GBF-
Yes, trout eat predacious diving beetles, but usually opportunistically, rather than specifically targeting them. However, given the number of them that Jude collected/photographed, my guess would be that they came from an exceptionally weedy lake, where they might well constitute a major food source for trout during their summer larval growth period, after which they crawl from the water and pupate.
In their larval stage, a Woolly Worm in a color matching the natural effectively imitates them. Also, in his book Nymphs, Earnest Schwiebert presents some more imitative Larval (Predacious) Diving Beetle patterns, one of which appears in the book, Western Hatches by Rick Hafele and Dave Hughes.
Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:c8ae8]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:c8ae8]
Thanks a bunch folks!! Yep, fish eat these critters. All of these specimens were taking from a stomach sample.
Taxon,
What kind of environment do you find these insects in, what times of the year are they most active, and do they eat midges? Thanks,
Jude
Late to bed,
Early to Rise,
Guide all day,
Tie more flies!
www.customflys.com
What kind of environment do you find these insects in,
Dytiscids mainly inhabit weedy ponds and lakes, but also streams and rivers.
what times of the year are they most active,
They spend the spring and summer as larvae, and are most active and available to trout during that period.
and do they eat midges?
Yes, as well as most other aquatic insects, small fish, and even their own.
Taxon
[url=http://FlyfishingEntomology.com:280bb]FlyfishingEntomology.com[/url:280bb]