Aquatic Life

In October we were visited by the people behind www.uk-wildlife.co.uk who came to photograph the rarely seen aquatic life in Risedale Beck. They took samples from the beck and then brought them into the field centre to study and photograph. They have kindly sent us these amazing pictures that show in great detail some of the weird and wonderful things that make their home in our fresh waterbodies.

The picture below shows a Burrowing Mayfly Nymph, which will live in the water from one to three years, depending on the species, before emerging as adult fly. They have very strong legs for digging burrows in the river bed in which they live. Their gills are on their backs and are covered by hard cases to prevent them from clogging up with the fine silt of the river bed.

Below is a Stonefly Larva. In order to breath Stonefly Larvae require a very high level of dissolved oxygen in the water so they have a very low tolerance to water pollution. Stonefly Larvae can therefore be used as an indicator of high water quality, so are a very welcome find in Risedale Beck.

Finally the picture below is of a Marsh Beetle Larva which is typically associated with stagnant water but as in this case can be found in flowing water. As shown here they are characterised by having antennae that are longer than their heads and they are many jointed.

Have you taken any amazing pictures whilst visiting Foxglove? If you have we would always love to see them so please send them to us at foxglovelnr@btinternet.com