Drama in the pond

[valdf]

It starts off with a pond skater apparently 'attacking' a fat-legged beetle:


Then just as I'm wondering what's going to happen, up comes a newt:


Newt chases pond skater chases beetle:


Pond skater legs it away, but beetle is surely going to be caught:


No, it clambers safely onto a reed, with the newt just watching:


So I have some questions. What was the beetle doing in the water? (And please don't say 'breast stroke'!!) Had it fallen in? What was the pond skater planning to do with it? And I'm assuming the newt could have caught the beetle if it really wanted to - so why didn't it?

I'm not necessarily looking for expert answers here, just anything to improve on my state of total ignorance will be appreciated!

Thanks,
Val

[exo]

Nice picture story, you should've got David Attenborough to do a voice over

Presumably the skater thought it would have a go at piercing the beetle's carapace,
I've seen then sucking/eating on large flies before.

Happiest of endings, at least for the beetle, which I assume just fell in by accident,
the newt was probably not hungry enough to tackle such a crunchy critter ?

[triops]

I have some questions. What was the beetle doing in the water? (And please don't say 'breast stroke'!!) Had it fallen in? What was the pond skater planning to do with it? And I'm assuming the newt could have caught the beetle if it really wanted to - so why didn't it?

We are all ignorant until we learn the answers!
The beetle, Oedemera nobilis, had fallen in. The skater, Gerris, was going to eat it-it waits for prey to fall onto the water. The newt was conidering eating the beetle (the skater would be too fast) but not very keen and a bit hampered by the filamentous alga.
Great drama!

[valdf]

Thanks exo and triops - exactly the sort of replies I was hoping for!

Val