Water-skiing beetles get a bumpy ride

Blink and you've missed it: Manu Prakash from Stanford University, USA, describes how one moment a waterlily beetle (Galerucella nymphaeae) is sat on the surface of a pond and the next it has vanished. 'The phenomenon is so incredibly fast that you don't see anything', says Prakash, describing the ripples remaining on the surface that are the only evidence that the insect was ever there. Having observed the beetles' remarkable disappearing act, Prakash knew he had to find out how they pull off t