1. Troutnut Forum
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2. Get Bugs Identified
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3. No picture but bare with me!

I was glassing a new section of stream today in the Catskills, in Sullivan County near my place.

I was observing from a rock wall 6 ft above the water. Out of the corner of my eye I saw flying toward me [and the stream] what initially looked like a #2 hook size stone fly, however this bug flew with a real purpose, not clumsily like stone flys do. It flew over the water, then just dropped into it with a splat, hard enough to make me think it got knocked out from the landing. I was glad it hit the water as this usually slows them down enough for me to see it clearly, but it actually went under and started swimming [quite proficiently I may add!] with a hinging motion. It stayed just under the surface and disappeared under one of the boulders I was standing above. It looked brownish/tan.

I wish I got a better look at it, but the whole thing happened in about 5 seconds. In the water and from about 10 ft away it looked more like a click beetle, at least the way it propelled itself subsurface, but this thing was much bigger, I would estimate it to be almost 2 inches long.

Any ideas? Im surry for being so vague but its all I got.

Hi Catskilljon-

Based on the reported size, my guess would be a Predaceous Diving Beetle, which would max out at about 1.4 inches.

CJ, it was probably a micro-drone spying on you but luckily it's battery ran out. :-)