Sparsholt Schools' Centre for Environmental Education
 

Pond Animal Information 

 

Water Stick Insect
Scientific Name: Ranatra linearis
Group: Insecta  (hemiptera)
Size: 50 - 80 mm 
Common in ponds, but often missed as they camouflage with pond plants. They often seem dead, as they lie motionless waiting for their prey. They catch their prey with their front legs and suck the blood with a long thin mouth tube. The animal breathes through a long, thin tube at the tip of the abdomen. The tube is poked out of the water like a 'snorkel' to let the animal breathe air.
 
 
Food chain
Position in food chain:
Secondary consumer (carnivore)
They eat: smaller insects like mayfly, shrimps, tadpoles
They are eaten by:
water mites and larger animals such as fish 		   
   
 

 

Life cycle
The female lays her eggs inside the stems of floating plants. The eggs hatch into nymphs which are very similar to the adult, except they have a short breathing tube.  After a number of moults the adult emerges.

 

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