Is there anything fun native to Southern Ontario

[Ajohnson5263]

After a quick google this is the closest picture i could find. it was black and brown on the top and it had a solid black belly. I'm not certain what it's natural diet is, but it did suck an earthworm when i put the two of them in a jar. In hindsight, it was a very small lake, perhaps it was a bait species of leech that got established? im trying to see if i can find any old photos with it.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

After a quick google this is the closest picture i could find. it was black and brown on the top and it had a solid black belly. I'm not certain what it's natural diet is, but it did suck an earthworm when i put the two of them in a jar. In hindsight, it was a very small lake, perhaps it was a bait species of leech that got established? im trying to see if i can find any old photos with it.

Placobdella perhaps? I've never seen one that was 6" but the mottled brown color and black belly matches their description. They're often associated with turtles but they apparently prey on invertebrates too.

 

[Umbra]

We do have at least 1 species of predatory flatworm, Rhynchodemus sylvaticus. I've cultured them for years and caught about 2 dozen last year to add new genes into the pool. They're pretty neat and easy to culture on fruit flies and pinhead crickets. Found pseudoscorpions in the same forest, our local purseweb spider (S. niger) is there as well. We have fishing spiders, nursery web spiders, giant water bugs, freshwater ribbon worms, several predatory leeches, tiger beetles, some cool ground beetles including Scarites subterraneus, the list goes on.

Feel free to pm me if you want more info!

 

[Bob Lee]

Went to the forest a while ago... Caught a yellow and black millipede, a single springtail and a single mite... Couple nightcrawlers with a black beetle of some kind. And also some Platyhelmthesis, I don't know what type of flatworm they were but they were definitely flatworms