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Minute orange water bugs

July 11, 2017 Reader 2 Comments

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In my small backyard pond in southern Ontario, there are bright orange-red water bugs. Some are 1 mm. Eyes are visible but no legs, yet. There are millions of these free swimmers/floaters. Will I and my neighbors be inundated with biting insects or are they beneficial? Judy

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2 thoughts on “Minute orange water bugs”

Tom of AskaNaturalist.com says:

April 19, 2018 at 3:23 pm

Hi Judy, Those are daphnia, a kind of crustacean. Harmless. They are full grown and won’t leave the water. If you know anyone with an aquarium, they make great fish food. Tom
Judy says:

April 19, 2018 at 3:24 pm

Thanks so much. We have another bigger pond with large Koi and Goldfish. I think I’ll give them a treat as there are millions in the small pond. I appreciate your quick response. Thanks. Judy