Down under, really?
Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
21–30 of 44 posts
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just to clarify: are your snails walking on the water-air surface upside down? Or they are underwater but clinging to some surface other than the water-air one? Assuming it is the first, do they breach the surface tension?
They cling to the water surface alone. They cling, they don't "stand" on it. Their whole shell and body is inside the water, and the shell hangs from the body, which is firmly attached to the surface. If I disturb the surface they fall to the bottom. This is a very common behaviour of pond snails. Just search "snail water surface" on google to see many pictures of it. The beetle seems to do the opposite thing, though…
Thank you very much for the explanation. I didn’t know about this. Super exciting.
For others who might be interested I found this video showing the behaviour: https://youtu.be/hOLbyAzLmbQ
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#23How is this a story. I've seen this myself.
Maybe a lot of upvotes have not witnessed this themselves. Not everything is going to be a new thing just for you. Don't you find it a little comforting that other people are now becoming aware that beetles are able to do this?
Yeah but the article says this is the first time it’s been recorded.
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#24[deleted]
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe a lot of upvotes have not witnessed this themselves. Not everything is going to be a new thing just for you. Don't you find it a little comforting that other people are now becoming aware that beetles are able to do this?
Yeah but the article says this is the first time it’s been recorded.
I believe there is some emerging friction between academically authenticated knowledge and that observed by mere “amateurs.”
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/20/1006352654/enthusiastic-amate...
And see villager observations here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/science/moray-eels-eat-la...
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#26How is this a story. I've seen this myself.
Agreed. I don't understand why they are making such a fuss about this. It seems trivial and expected, and is not an uncommon site (if you like looking into ponds like me).
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#27A beetle? In my aquarium I have snails walking upside down under the water surface!
I'd believe that they could hang upside down with their feet at the surface. I wouldn't believe that they could actually propel themselves across the surface; any movement would be due to water currents.
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#28A beetle? In my aquarium I have snails walking upside down under the water surface!
I'd believe that they could hang upside down with their feet at the surface. I wouldn't believe that they could actually propel themselves across the surface; any movement would be due to water currents.
They definitely propel themselves. Even if I stop the filter so that there's no water circulation, they can walk on the surface just as fast as they do on the glass (which is quite slow, but still).
Think about it: water striders propel themselves quite fast on the surface of water, from the other side. The air/water interface is a though barrier to break for small beings. Thus they can use it for support, from either side.
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#29Australia is the most appropriate place for such findings.
Re: Beetle walking upside down under water surface filmed in Australia
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just to clarify: are your snails walking on the water-air surface upside down? Or they are underwater but clinging to some surface other than the water-air one? Assuming it is the first, do they breach the surface tension?
They cling to the water surface alone. They cling, they don't "stand" on it. Their whole shell and body is inside the water, and the shell hangs from the body, which is firmly attached to the surface. If I disturb the surface they fall to the bottom. This is a very common behaviour of pond snails. Just search "snail water surface" on google to see many pictures of it. The beetle seems to do the opposite thing, though…
> The beetle seems to do the opposite thing, though.
Why is it the opposite? From the description it seems exactly the same.