freshwater lifePonds, rivers and streams are full of wildlife. And it isn’t all just in the water.

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On the edge Bugs on top Down belowl Look around the water’s

edge for creatures flying, feeding and resting.

l Perching dragonfly. Its wings are spread out.

l Damselfly with its wings tucked alongside its body.

l Is anything coming to drink, such as a bird, bee or wasp?

l Some insects land on the surface and get stuck. Others are adapted to walking on water and will happily eat them up.

l Pond skater. Special hairs on its feet trap air, so it floats over the surface.

l Whirligig beetle. Watch it spin round and round. Half of its huge eye sees below the water, half sees above the surface.

l Backswimmer. Spears its prey from beneath the surface and sucks out its insides!

l All of the creatures under water eat plants or each other. It’s a dangerous place!

Stickleback

Damselfly

Discover

Tadpole

Dragonfly

Smooth newt

Backswimmer

Pond skater

Write and

tell us

about what

you’ve found.

Draw the creatures you have seen on this picture. Can you put them where they belong? If you like, you could send us a picture of this page to show us what you saw.

Make your watery scene

Wild Challenge extra

The RSPB is a registered charity in England & Wales 207076, in Scotland SC037654 770-0214-18-19 Dragonfly and smooth newt by Ben Andrew, damselfly by Jodie Randall, pond skater by Richard Revels, backswimmer by Neil Phillips, tadpole and stickleback by RSPB (all rspb-images.com), ladybird, wellies, soil, pencil and frog by iStockphoto.com and magnifying glass by dreamstime.com