9/10 for the dismount

[LordV]

Decided to try and get a shot of the water measurers yesterday. As usual they all scattered very sedately when I got near them except one. Focused in on this one and the reason it had not bolted became obvious- it was preoccupied with more important matters :)
All very quiet- not a ripple on the water surface and the most elegant dismount I've yet seen for a bug.
Water measurer- Hydrometra about 12mm body length.

Brian V.

Click on Pics for larger size

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/477205633_0610abfd06.jpg (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/477205633_74862ea658_o.jpg)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/477205639_f37d329705.jpg (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/477205639_823c93671a_o.jpg)


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/477205643_db8100dec7.jpg (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/477205643_74b29f3cdf_o.jpg)

[Courierman]

great shots ,did you have your head in the water :lol:

[LordV]

great shots ,did you have your head in the water :lol:

Thanks Courierman :)
No I was kneeling by the side of the pond trying not to fall in ;)
Brian v.

[JoseC]

Very well done Brian.
Curious as I was thinking a few days ago that I had to try these insects.
Rgds
Jose

[Dalantech]

Excellent shots Brian!!

[eccles]

What curious insects. I've never seen these before. You never post bad pics, Brian, so compliments are rather redundant these days. :)

[bandit 1]

Hiya Brian,
Excellent seris of shots with #2 being my favorite, it's a funny thing but I've never had any Water measurers on this Pond to date or come to that Water Boatmen either, strikes me as a bit odd.
Cheers for now
Mark

[LindaB]

Fantastic set of shots, nice to get such a clear view of what they look like as I dont think I have seen them close up before, certainly none on my pond, but then I believe Pond Skaters (which I do have) will eat them.

Linda

[LordV]

Very well done Brian.
Curious as I was thinking a few days ago that I had to try these insects.
Rgds
Jose
Thanks Jose :)
Must be morphic resonance (Rupert Sheldrake theory) :)
Brian V.

[LordV]

Excellent shots Brian!!

Thanks John :)
They are difficult to shoot normally because although they are slow moving they tend not to stop :)
Brian v.

[LordV]

What curious insects. I've never seen these before. You never post bad pics, Brian, so compliments are rather redundant these days. :)

Thanks eccles - they are a bit odd and easily missed- just I know they are there- I see them when I playing with my pond filters.
Brian V.

[LordV]

Hiya Brian,
Excellent seris of shots with #2 being my favorite, it's a funny thing but I've never had any Water measurers on this Pond to date or come to that Water Boatmen either, strikes me as a bit odd.
Cheers for now
Mark

Thanks Mark- suprised you haven't got water boatmen (you sure the fish aren't eating them ?)
Brian V.

[LordV]

Fantastic set of shots, nice to get such a clear view of what they look like as I dont think I have seen them close up before, certainly none on my pond, but then I believe Pond Skaters (which I do have) will eat them.

Linda

Thanks Linda :)
very arkward to photograph- they are just too long :)
You may be right about the pond skaters as I don't get them, well I do but they don't last long - either get eaten by more fish or they get syphoned into my pond filter by my surface skimmer :)
Brian V

[racketman]

never seen one but look tricky, nice work. Lighting is excellent.

[calicokat]

Beautiful captures, they are all great

[Attic]

Great shots, they always seem to scatter across the pond when I get near them.

[bandit 1]

Hiya Brian,

I guess the fish could be eating em but one would think that one or two would have been spotted by now, the water conditions are perfectly healthy for all forms of wildlife, it's just very strange that this is the only pond that I've built so far that has not had them & I've done nothin any different to this that any other pond I've built :confused: :confused:

Cheers for now
Mark


Thanks Mark- suprised you haven't got water boatmen (you sure the fish aren't eating them ?)
Brian V.

[LordV]

Thanks for the comments again :)
Alby- when these scatter it's in slow motion :)

mark- well I've only spotted one water boatman on my pond this year and that lasted about 2 mins (disappeared down my surface skimming syphon).
brian V.

[strmrdr]

exellent bug porn

[dgcorner]

Brian, fantastic shots as always!

[mjm80]

Thanks eccles - they are a bit odd and easily missed- just I know they are there- I see them when I playing with my pond filters.
Brian V.

I've never heard of a pond filter. Do they come in a range of thread sizes? :D

Excellent crisp shots as usual Brian - First time I've seen these insects.

[bandit 1]

Hiya Brian,

To I take it that was in your Koi Pond if you use a S.S.S. ?

I've never kept Koi, never interested me that much, don't get me wrong I love em a truly beautiful fish.
I'm into Natural Wild Ponds single pump through home made filter, the only ' Extra ' I have is a UV Filter purchased a few wks back as I just could not get on top of my Hair/ Green Algae, I've tried every Natural Remedy possible to no avail, spent Hrs. scooping the damn stuff out & still not joy, damn me I put the UV Filter in-line & the Green Algae was gone in four days & the Hair Algae is now only in the Oxygenating Weed, happy me :D :D :D

Cheers for now
Mark



mark- well I've only spotted one water boatman on my pond this year and that lasted about 2 mins (disappeared down my surface skimming syphon).
brian V.[/quote]

[LordV]

Thanks again for the comments :)
Martin the pond filter is just a fancy name for a sewage works- I probably have about 60Kg of fish in 2800 gals of water and they produce a lot of waste :)

Mark -Yes it was my koi pond. I don't think there is any cure for string algae apart from chemical killing which I would never do. Don't think those magnet or radio frequency devices do a thing. A u.v in the filter will kill suspended single cell algae but I don't like using them- always worried about what else they are killing. I actually use a mesh bag of barley straw which actually does work at killing suspended algae (commercial trout ponds use it ), just need to put it in a well aerated part of the pond or filter. I just twist the string algae off using a long bamboo pole but it's amazing how fast that stuff can grow. I just look at it as inevitable- you put fish food in and get out bigger fish and lots of algae - it's just a nutrient balance.

Brian V.

[dpastern]

Never seen one of these myself, excellent captures.

Dave

[LordV]

Never seen one of these myself, excellent captures.

Dave
Thanks dave :)
I see these so frequently when I'm on pond duty I tend to forget about trying to photograph them :)

brian V.