Introducing The Rat-tailed Maggot!

I have a new mini-pond in my garden. It sits on the patio and is approximately 1 metre square by half a metre deep. I chose this as, being raised up, it would exlude frogs, for which my dear wife has a phobia!

The pond came as a kit and only took a couple of hours to build. Planting it up took a little longer.

Garden Mini-pond

Just 10 days after planting up and filling the pond with water, we had our first visit by a damselfly - a male Large Red Damselfly.

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male)

Anyway, to cut to the chase, one day when out in the garden with the camera I noticed a small 'blobby' thing with a long 'tail', and took some photos. Bear in mind that this 'thing' was only about 10 mm long!

Rat-tailed Maggot (Helophilus pendulus) (larva)

It turns out that this is the larva of a hoverfly species. There is one group of hoverflies that have larvae that live in damp places, and this particular species favours ponds. That 'tail' is actually a tube that it breathes through.

Here is the adult hoverfly - also taken at the new pond.

hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) (adult male)

Who'd believe that such a repulsive looking larva could transform into something as handsome as that hoverfly?!

I hope that you are all well, and staying safe. One day we'll all meet again!