Great Diving Beetles
 

Hi, I'm not a regular here and I don't know too much about ponds but I
could use some advice.

While out in the garden found a great diving beetle (I assume, it was
a good 2 inches long!), swimming around, brazen as you like, in the
pond. Grabbed the net and tried to snag it but it plunged and I lost
it. Trouble is, the pond's just been treated with a dose of
unidentified chemicals (unidentified because it doesn't state it
anywhere on the container) to reduce weed growth and the water will be
cloudy for the next four, probably five days.

If everything I've heard about this insect is true it can decimate
fish stocks and I certainly want to scrobble it before it breeds, lays
eggs, or anything of that nature. Does anybody have any tips on how
to get it? Do they surface periodically to breathe or anything? (I
waited for ages but I didn't spot it again.) Are they active during
the day or just in the evenings? Do they hide in plants are on the
bottom or anywhere else I might look? Are they as destructive as I've
heard or am I being paranoid?

Any help on this would be much appreciated as I am housesitting this
pond and would prefer it if the owners didn't come back to find all
their fish dead! Cheers.

PS - dragonfly larvae too - worth worrying about?

Great Diving Beetles
 

Yes the beetles return to the surface to breathe and fill up their air bubble
they carry under their wing case.
They are one of the slickest and fastest swimmers in the aquatic insect world.
They eat any animal in the pond they can tackle leaving only the bones behind
and they can deliver a powerful bite, so be careful.
As far as catching one I think the same rules apply for catching fish, one of
the easiest ways is to just drain the pond down.
You could set a trap of sorts. Use a minnow trap and put a chicken leg in it or
suspend a chicken leg above a net in the water and wait...
And hope that no eggs were laid.

Dragonfly nymphs will attack tiny fish but usually aren't much of a problem as
they are also food for older fish.
As a pond ages it is good to have some predators around to keep the fish
population from exploding.

good luck and let us know what happens!



k30a

Great Diving Beetles
 

Some good news, some bad ...

My God, but have I been having a duel with this beastly creature!
Paid the price too as have got rather nasty sunburn from lurking
around the pond all morning. Found that it was sticking to one end of
the pond but you weren't kidding when you said it was a fast, strong
swimmer! Quick as a flash. Tried to lure it out with a bierwurst-net
trap but only managed to attract flies.
However, found it hanging around one particular plant, thence
endgame. Sat there, like a destroyer waiting for a u-boat, until it
ran out of air and floated up to the surface. The first time it saw
me coming and went straight back down but it didn't have the sense to
swim away and, eventually, it came back up in the same place.
Best tip I can give is to watch where you cast the shadow of the
net. If it falls across the beetle it'll vamoose like a torpedo. By
coming at it from the same side as the sun I managed to scoop it out
and squish the little devil before it could fly away. (btw, in the
cold light of day it was only about an inch and a half long, not two
inches!)

However ... during the hunt I also came across (and disposed of) a
couple of beetle larvae. This is obviously not good. Apart from
anything else they are quite the most revolting looking horrors, more
like something out of Starship Troopers than a beetle. Fortunately I
have managed to account for all the fish so none of them have been
torn to shreds yet.
Cheers for the info and advice anyway, I will simply have to keep a
close eye on things for a while and hope that there's no eggs in there
....

Great Diving Beetles
 

Glad to have the net/shadow tip.
Maybe the fish will take care of the larvae
for you.


k30a

Great Diving Beetles
 

oh my god, life can be so unfair and me who is so desperate to find some
great diving beetle!
never mind i also understand that u fish must come first...
i wish i reads this b4 i would have probab;ly if u did not mind even drive
all the way to get it from u, as i am such a lover of thios little beast as
u call them.
i guess, i like the humting technique, i always say, a GDB make a piranha
looks like a golfish! in comparison to their hunting technique.
cheers
H
"K30a" wrote in message
...

Glad to have the net/shadow tip.
Maybe the fish will take care of the larvae
for you.


k30a


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.502 / Virus Database: 300 - Release Date: 18/07/2003

Great Diving Beetles
 

I know this is an oldish post, but I have to say, Pip, you are one
serious house-sitter. No way would I ever expect you to be
responsible for fish killed by a beetle. Of course, if it were Boris
house-sitting, I might be sus-picious that he brought it with him.
(just kidding, Boris)
Glad you caught the nasty thing. Do the owners read this list?
They'll get a kick out of it if they do.
Ann

(Pip) wrote in message . com...
Some good news, some bad ...

My God, but have I been having a duel with this beastly creature!
Paid the price too as have got rather nasty sunburn from lurking
around the pond all morning. Found that it was sticking to one end of
the pond but you weren't kidding when you said it was a fast, strong
swimmer! Quick as a flash. Tried to lure it out with a bierwurst-net
trap but only managed to attract flies.
However, found it hanging around one particular plant, thence
endgame. Sat there, like a destroyer waiting for a u-boat, until it
ran out of air and floated up to the surface. The first time it saw
me coming and went straight back down but it didn't have the sense to
swim away and, eventually, it came back up in the same place.
Best tip I can give is to watch where you cast the shadow of the
net. If it falls across the beetle it'll vamoose like a torpedo. By
coming at it from the same side as the sun I managed to scoop it out
and squish the little devil before it could fly away. (btw, in the
cold light of day it was only about an inch and a half long, not two
inches!)

However ... during the hunt I also came across (and disposed of) a
couple of beetle larvae. This is obviously not good. Apart from
anything else they are quite the most revolting looking horrors, more
like something out of Starship Troopers than a beetle. Fortunately I
have managed to account for all the fish so none of them have been
torn to shreds yet.
Cheers for the info and advice anyway, I will simply have to keep a
close eye on things for a while and hope that there's no eggs in there
...