Waterstrider with Prey

[Sven Bernert]

Canon 10D, Sigma 180 mil macro + 2x TC, 2x 420EX slaves fired by an ST-E2, 1/125 @ f/22, ISO 100

This is an older image, Danny might remember it from our early NPN days. I only have a small version online, sorry.

The two flashes were mounted on a Novoflex flexible rail. To be honest: the hold thing was a pain in the a.. to operate. Here is a pic:

http://www.fototime.com/4072052F38B6414/orig.jpg

Waterstriders are in the same family as those watersticks in my previous thread. The hunting behavior is interesting: they are catching their prey with the fore legs (or arms) in just a split of a second and inject fluid in the preys body which stops the prey moving. They then put their trunk (?) in the preys body and suck all of the preys body fluid away. Usually just a dry carcass is left afterwards (as the last pic in my other thread shows).

Here the strider has killed a small spider ...

C&C welcome

Sven

[Ken Ramos]

Sven wrote:

Here the strider has killed a small spider ...

I always did like Water Striders! Excellent shot there Sven, we need more of these insects around.

[beetleman]

Ken likes anything that kills spiders. A great photo Sven. Plenty of nice DOF and a great job on the water ( no hard reflections).

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

Here the strider has killed a small spider ...

Looks like a big spider to me! I'm sure the strider thinks he's got the Mother Lode! (see the last sentence of this Wikipedia description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_lode )

The system of injecting poison into prey is pretty common amongst Hemiptera. The injected poison not only paralyzes the prey, but begins digesting it so that the mouthpiece of the predator (they usually have a sort of sharp-ended hollow straw for a mouth) can penetrate the body and suck the innards out liquified like a milkshake!

I happened to look up water striders before responding to this--Apparently some of them have colonized the open ocean and live out at sea! smt103
I'd love to see that for myself, let alone photograph it (which would be really difficult outside a controlled setting!).

[Sven Bernert]

Sven wrote:

Here the strider has killed a small spider ...

I always did like Water Striders! Excellent shot there Sven, we need more of these insects around.

Ha, I knew your are going to write a comment like this

[salden]

These guys are interesting to watch. I have yet to get a good image of them. Nice capture Sven

[Sven Bernert]

Apparently some of them have colonized the open ocean and live out at sea!

Thanks Doug and Mike, Mike especially for all the information. Colonizing the open ocean is an interesting behavior. With no plants and other stuff on the water surface out there I wonder how they find prey / food?

About the controlled setting: there is an interesting fact I forgot to mention when posting the image: this Strider (and hundreds of its brothers and sisters) lived in one of my pond (water) filters, so it was an relative easy setting with the subject located 1,20 m above the ground If you look closely the reflections in the water are a little unnatural.

Thanks again,
Sven

[Sven Bernert]

These guys are interesting to watch. I have yet to get a good image of them. Nice capture Sven

Thanks Sue Having a pond in the garden helps a lot in that regard.

Best,
Sven

[salden]

These guys are interesting to watch. I have yet to get a good image of them. Nice capture Sven

Thanks Sue Having a pond in the garden helps a lot in that regard.

Best,
Sven

I have a pond, but nothing like the one you have. Mine is really small.