Pond Skaters... like you may never have seen them before.

I always saw Pond skaters as clever little chaps that could walk on the surface tension of water and run really fast.
According to the RSPB site they eat small insects.
However, my observations are that they are ruthless in attacking bigger insect than themselves.

The insect above was struggling to escape the water's grip.  It might have made it if a pond skater hadn't moved in for the kill.

By this time the prey was about to stop struggling.   Meanwhile.... in the other pond....

One unhappy insect had been attacked by a hoard of predatory pond skaters.

Click here for the RSPB's account that pond skaters take small insects.  Everything is relative but in my ponds they take big insects including wasps!  Click here to see http://sussexrambler.blogspot.com/2010/08/spheksophobia.html