A Year in the Valley

Also known as the hog louse, this is related to the woodlouse, but lives in water.  There are four species of water louse.  The two-spotted water slater is the most common and has two spots on the back of its head.  They can tolerate low levels of oxygen, so are often found in stagnant water.  They feed on decaying organic matter in the mud and weed at the bottom of the pond.  They don’t swim very well, but crawl through the mud and move from pond to pond on plants, birds, and floods.  An easy difference between pond slaters and shrimps is that while shrimps are flattened side-to-side, pond slaters are flattened top-to-bottom, like woodlice.