Many Scorpions and not so many Dragons!

Our pond dipping session this afternoon fell between the showers, in the sunshine.  Nets were plunged into the murky depths of the pool and scooped out a multitude of strange beasties.

 

Lesser Water Boatman came first then the larger paler, red eyed Greater Water Boatman.  Pond Skaters skimmed the surface, midge larvae and the striking Water Scorpions were impressive in their oddness.  We had hoped for some dragonfly larvae but none were found a couple of Damselflies flew above the pond but no big fierce larvae.

Lesser Water Boatman

Pond Skater and Caddis Fly

Water Scorpion

On the grasses round about were many hopping froghoppers and leaf hoppers and a sweep of the big grass net revealed the grass was alive with Daddy-long legs, flies and bugs.

Froghopper

The children were extremely enthusiastic and in their excitement left a bit damper than they arrived!

This was the last of the summer activities and we are thankful for teaming up with the I&J Toy Library and funding from Foundation Scotland meant we could provide these activities for free this year, enabling many more families to benefit from the fun gained from discovering and exploring Islay and Jura's nature in the wild.
Fiona