Subject: what is this
Location: south carolina
June 4, 2015 7:10 am
I found these in my dogs water bowl. I thought they were tadpoles until I took a closer look. Any ideas?
Signature: megan

Mosquito Larvae

Hi Megan,
Out of curiosity, how often do you change your dog’s water?  These are Mosquito Larvae and they are generally found in stagnant water.

I normally change it daily, but last week was crazy and I missed a couple of days…never again. Thank you for letting me know what they are. They have been in a jar for 3 days (and are now disposed of).

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Subject: Baffled by Big Black Bug
Location: Beaverton, OR
April 26, 2014 7:41 pm
Daniel,
Just in case it’s interesting, here’s another picture from the same excursion of a tiny critter we found in a pond.  My “Pond Life” book leads me to believe it’s not a larva but a mosquito pupa. I had no idea that pupas could be free swimming, lively animals as opposed to motionless inside a cocoon!
Thank you again,
Laura

Tumbler, AKA Mosquito Pupa

Hi Laura,
Thank you for sending in your excellent image of a Mosquito Pupa, or Tumbler as it is sometimes called.  Mosquito Pupae are incredibly mobile, and they are also capable of sensing danger, tumbling away from the water surface and into the depths.  Mosquito Larvae are called Wrigglers because of the way they move through the water, and the tumbling motion of the Pupae led to the common name Tumblers.

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Subject: Unidentified larva in pond
Location: NNorthern Central Valley California.
March 14, 2014 10:09 am
I started a new frog pond and began seeing Mosquito larva. At first I hunted them down individually with a turkey baster and got rid of them until I suddenly had hundreds! I purchased a biological remedy safe for other wildlife and all the mosquito larva disappeared overnight thankfully. BUT there are some other larva that were unaffected. The behavior is similar to a mosquito larva as they wiggle underwater when I shine a flashlight on them but they are oval shaped when viewed from above as they keep their tailed curled underneath them. they have two tiny nubs of an antenna as well. I caught one and observed it (Too small for a picture really although I will make the attempt). But they resemble a small grammarian and most definitely have metallic green coloring as well as black. I put it right back into the pond thinking perhaps it may be a larva of something beneficial??? I absolutely love your site and use it often! Thanks!
I have already submitted this once but after poking around on the net I found a much better picture posted by someone from Colorado. I used a bacterial larvacide to get rid of the hundreds of mosquito larva in my newish pond yet these were unaffected. Behaviorally they act very much like mosquito larva but look very different. I have captured two and I am keeping them to see what develops. The other person who posted this image was unsuccessful after posting his picture on ten sites. I will not simply eradicate any animal no matter how small unless it is harmful. West Nile is active in my area so mosquitos are sentenced to death immediately but I want to give these little buggers a chance.
Signature: All life (unless it sucks blood) lover

Mosquito Pupa

Dear All life (unless it sucks your blood) lover,
Your remedy might have gotten rid of the Mosquito Larvae, but it did not eliminate the next stage in the metamorphosis process, the Mosquito Pupae.  This is a Mosquito Pupa, sometimes called a Tumbler, while the larvae are called Wrigglers.

Solved my own riddle!  They are Mosquito pupae and I imagine because they do not eat at this stage they are immune to the bacterial larvacide.  Luckily there are only a few that reached this stage and I am hunting them down with my trusty Turkey baster!  Love your site!  Thank you so much for the reply, I poked around on the internet and found an answer.  I am hunting these things down individually with a turkey baster and putting them into a jar with bleach.  Thank you so much for the reply.  I and my children use your site constantly.  Thank you again!

We fully understand your war on bloodsuckers.  Here at the offices of WTB?, we catch Mosquito Larvae and Pupae and feed them to our Angelfish.

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