A china mark moth caterpillar - the biggest I've seen so far in all the times I've dipped this pond... it even had a nibble on my finger! These caterpillars live in the water and make a 'leaf sandwich' to live inside.
Lots of other creatures were found too - shrimps, water boatmen, midge larvae, dragon and damselfly larvae, newt tadpoles, diving beetle larvae, caddisfly and alder fly larvae, pea cockles...
I'm aiming not to use work day activity for 30 Days Wild as it feels like cheating to count something I'm doing any way for it, but today, I gave up what would have been a day off to do this work for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, so I'm counting it! I spent a couple of hours engaging 37 children (3-5 years old) with nature :)
