Vultures of the Pond

  Back in the day, it seems that Westerns were the movies of choice.  At least, in our house, they were.  Every Saturday evening, we would all pile into the old Studebaker station wagon and head to my grandparents' house.  THEY had a TV!! We did not.  Well, to be perfectly honest, we had two.  One had great sound and the other had a very fuzzy picture.  Pop kept trying to fix them but to no avail.  So, we did without.  But on those Saturday nights, we had a grand time!  More oft than not, we were treated to a John Wayne movie!  Invariably, during the movie, some hapless cowboy became hopelessly stranded in the desert!  Why?  Why did he go into the desert in the first place?  Why did he not just turn around and ride that horse right back out of the place when he realized that there was no escape?  Why in the world did every movie contain a desert scene?  Why?  Because we were all gullible enough to become enthralled by the fact that the guy was stuck there....and there were vultures!  Vultures flocked around the cowboy dude that crawled in the desert sand.  They flew in great circles around him after he let his horse run free.  Their numbers grew as word got out that a free meal was for the taking as soon as the thirsty dude succumbed.  Vultures are like that, you know.

  This morning, I watched as a Eastern Lubber Grasshopper struggled to maintain her balance on the side of the Frog Pond.  The critter was weakened as her time was near.  These grasshoppers' lives wane during the late fall after their egg-laying is complete.  This critter was wobbling precariously close to the edge when suddenly it hopped..not toward the grass but rather into the water.  Once there, the grasshopper panicked and thrashed about a bit.  Ripples fluttered outward from the insect.  This was a call for all of the "vultures" of the pond to hasten to the dying critter.  At first, one came out from the water hyacinths.  Then, two from the water lilies.  Four more rushed in from the driftwood on the edge.  Then it seemed as if hundreds of the "vultures" appeared all at once.  They surrounded the dying grasshopper and waited.  Some darted in closer when her thrashing stopped but would back off once the grasshopper moved again.  This kept on for some time.  At times, I felt as if I should rescue the grasshopper but, then, since she was dying anyway, what good would it do.  On land, she would be covered in ants or yellow jackets by this time.  Here, she would feed the Pond Vultures.

  These are actually a family of true bugs called Gerridae or Water Striders, Jesus Bugs, or Pond Skippers...or whatever you wish to call them...I call them Pond Vultures.  They are small bugs that can walk on the surface of the water.  They inhabit most fresh or brackish waters and do a good job of  "cleaning" up the place.  They wait until some hapless insect dude (or gal, in this morning's case) falls into the desert...errrr...water and then make short work of him.  The Pond Vultures have specialized mouthparts that are used for piercing and sucking.  The grasshopper this morning became breakfast for dozens of the Pond Vultures.  It is all about survival of the fittest.  Just remember these "friendly" critters the next time you go wading in a pond!  They are there.....just waiting....circling...eyeing...waiting for the chance.