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I've always been fascinated by insects, particularly the aquatic variety, and often spend time exploring local beaver ponds to see what I can discover.

The variety of life around these ponds always seems to surprise me. At first it was hard to see any signs of life, but after a few minutes, my eyes began adjusting. Suddenly the pond came to life with myriads of tiny creatures--too many to even hope to identify.

As I slowly gained some understanding of the world these creatures live in, I became increasingly intrigued with the many roles each played within the pond ecosystem. Each had its own well defined function and this "niche" had evolved over millions of years.

The pond is a primitive world where 'eat or be eaten' is the rule of the day. When you look closely at some of these underwater hunters you are reminded of the ancient world of the dinosaurs. With names like water tiger and dragonfly, these voracious hunters live up to their fearsome names. They spend most of their lives underwater and most of this time hunting or being hunted.

Dragonfly naiads (an aquatic nymph) are one of the most vicious of the underwater hunters. To closely watch them brings about images not unlike those presented in the movie "Alien". Like the Alien they have extendible mouth-parts that reach out to scoop up their dinner.

In addition, since their gills are in their abdomen, by quickly forcing out water, they can travel through the water using a very effective form of jet propulsion.

Upon leaving the pond and becoming an adult, they continue their ferocious ways and take to hunting on the wing. A very effective aerial hunter, they help control mosquito and midge populations.

However some, like the mayfly, only leave the water long enough to become adults, mate and die. They belong to a group of insects called Ephemeroptera which comes from the word "ephemeral" or "short-lived". After spending from a few months to several years as a naiad, it emerges from the water to become a winged adult. This adult has only one thing on its mind--mating. In fact, their mouth-parts are non-functional, leaving them incapable of eating. The remainder of their life cycle--finding a mate, mating, laying eggs and then promptly dying--may be completed in a few hours to a few days. Either way, the adults are truly ephemeral.

Within any given pond, and there are many within the Bow Corridor, an unimaginable variety of insect life can be found. Providing food for a hungry trout or even other insects, each individuals survival depends on their skills of camouflage and adaptation.