BANDED DEMOISELLE DAMSELFLY

Scientific name: Calopteryx splendens

It took me about two weeks to hatch and then I was a larvae for two years, overwintering in the mud at the bottom of the canal.

Then I developed into a beautiful Damselfly with a fingerprint pattern on my wings that allowed me to fly out of the water and into the air

Flitter Bye for now…

Hello,

I’m not an ordinary beetle as I can hold a bubble of air under my shell, and dive deep down into ponds to catch food.

We are known also as The Great Diving Beetle, with some giving us the scary nickname of Water Tigers.

It’s probably fair, as we are voracious predators, hunting smaller invertebrates, tadpoles, and even small fish.

Even when I was a larvae I was a fearsome-looking beast, with big biting jaws, that look a bit like underwater Devil's Coach Horses.

I can also fly, usually at night, because I can use the reflection of moonlight on water to find new ponds.

Water Beetle

Scientific name: Dytiscus marginalis

But one time, I was mistaken by the reflection of water on your new road, and thinking it was a pond I was nearly run over by one of your cars.

Perhaps I’ll visit your pond one day

Water Shrew

Scientific name: Neomys fodiens

Hello,

I burrow a home in the side of the brook in City Fields, where it has been my family home for generations.

You call me a water shrew, because unlike other shrews I am a bit bigger and love swimming in water.

I spend much of my time hunting for invertebrates and even swimming underwater to catch caddisfly and mayfly larvae.

Do you know that I have a venomous bite, with poison in my saliva that can stun animals much bigger than me, but not as big as you.

Bye for now

Hello,

My family has always lived in Oakenshaw Beck in Wakefield.

You will recognise my burrow in the bank, as I have a lovely nibbled 'lawn' of grass around the entrance.

You call me a Water Vole, but in the children’s story ‘Wind in the Willows’ I’m called Ratty!

But I am not a rat! They are larger than me.

And I have lovely chestnut brown fur, not grey brown fur like a rat

And I don’t have a pointed nose

Water Vole

Scientific name: Arvicola amphibius

Or large ears that protrude from its fur,

And a long, scaly tail.

I have a lovely blunt, rounded nose, small ears, and a furry tail.

So you are very happy to visit, but don’t call me a rat!

Hello,

For thousands of years all the fresh water rivers and streams that run down the valley to Wakefield have been my home.

Although things are tough for us right now, I still love living with you here, as the water is rich with minerals that help me grow a strong shell, and big claws.

I am a bit shy and hide under stones and rocks in the stream, and I use my pincers to catch my dinner or cut up plants.

White Clawed Crayfish

Scientific name: Austropotamobius pallipes

Maybe I’ll see you by the stream Bye.

Hello,

Even though I am really tiny - and weigh as little as a 2p piece! I like to build my house high up in long grass.

If you look carefully you will see a beautiful home for my 6 children.

They have to climb a single piece of long grass to get into their suspended woven-grass nest.

You call me a Harvest Mouse, and I have a very long tail that I can use as another arm.

This helps me to climb and hang upside down like a monkey.

Which is great fun in the long grass.

Bye for now