The thought of a creature as strange as a caddisfly larva had intrigued my friend ever since she read about them in an article I had written for an environmental newsletter.  Since then, she had peered into the river in search of one every time she went kayaking.  At work, the next day, she would report, "No caddis fly larvae."  Again and again, I would hear the same refrain, "No caddis fly larvae."  I could see that she was beginning to despair of ever seeing one of these fascinating creatures.  Did they really exist or had I just made them up?

   One day at the end of January a few years back, she came to work, grinning from ear to ear.  "Guess what I saw?"  she asked.  Instantly I knew what had happened.  Against all odds, conditions had been just perfect the night before.  The water and the air temperature were just right.  Absolutely no wind at all.  The end of January and no snow.  The water had frozen so completely, so fast that the ice was as clear as glass.  The next day was a bright sunny day, with the sunlight shining down through the ice and lighting up the world below. 

      Lucy and her family, out for a walk, were crossing the ice when she knelt down to peer below.  Because of the conditions, she could see clearly everything happening under the ice. 

And the world revealed below her looking glass of ice was in many ways just as strange as the world Alice found through her looking glass!

"Come quick," she called to her family. "There is a stick under the ice that has sprouted legs and is walking away!"  At that instant, she knew she had seen her first caddis fly larva.  At that instant, the grin spread across her face and stayed there until she came into my office the next day.

   Soon, the whole family was belly down on the ice peering below.  There were multicolored little beetles swimming around, each with a silvery edge about their folded wings.  Adult insects must breath air like us.  And just like us, if they wish to stay submerged for extended periods, they must bring their air supply with them.  To do this, they trap an air bubble under their wings.  In this position, the air bubble is in contact with their spiracles,  tiny breathing holes along the sides of their bellies.  Scuba-diving beetles!

   Looking closely in the muck, they could see the outline of a dragonfly larva, almost completely buried.  Perfectly still, yet completely aware and awake, it was waiting for a smaller insect to forget it was there and swim a little too near.  Faster than the eye could follow, it would dart forward its lower lip, snare the insect, eat it and settle down for another wait.

   One curious insect was hanging upside down from a submerged plant.  Letting go of the plant, it began beating its legs back and forth, swimming very rapidly in jerky little motions upside down, almost as if it were peering back out through the ice at my friends. It spends its whole adult life upside down.  Appropriately called a "Backswimmer", it is a type of bug, with a sharp, beaklike mouth that it inserts into smaller insects to suck out their juices.

   Other bugs were to be seen also.  Lumbering through the algae was a Giant Water Bug, about two inches long, oval in shape and dark, dark brown in color.  This fearsome looking beast can give a nasty bite.  One of its nicknames is "Toe Biter".  However nasty these bugs may seem, they are the truly politically correct bugs of the aquatic world, for it is the male that cares for the young.  The eggs are glued onto his back where he will care for them until they hatch.

   Of all the strange and wonderful sights my friend and her family saw that day, the strangest was sighted by her son.  "Wow, you gotta see this thing," he shouted.  There, crawling upside-down along the under surface of the ice was a gigantic Dobsonfly larva.  Three inches long with a pair of filaments stretching out from each body segment, it looked like a giant underwater centipede. 

The dobsonfly larva, or hellgrammite, is the undisputed king of this underwater world, using its strong jaws to catch anything within reach, including small fish.

   This was a very special day for my friend and her family.  Only under these ideal conditions can one get such a clear view of this magical underwater world.  Only in the dead of winter, when the land seems so lifeless, does the river truly reveal its life.

CAUTION:  Before venturing out on the ice, you should make sure it is safe to walk on.  Generally, it should be 4 inches thick to insure safety.  After all, you only want to observe the life in the pond, not join it.