If I could have any ability, it would be to be able to swim indefinitely and fly. The dream of mastering both water and air has been mine since childhood. It seems that I have been beaten to the punch; there is a beetle that has done it.

The lily pad beetle spends its life zipping from lily pad to lily pad, eating holes as it goes. In order to get from pad to pad, it forgoes the normal methods of swimming or using an air cushion. Rather, they use something that quite honestly looks like self-propelled wind surfing. It beats its wings, just like any other insect would for flying. At the same time, it keeps one of its hind legs in contact with the water, acting like an anchor. The result is a very odd sight. Dr. Prakash, who initially saw this phenomenon out of the corner of his eye, was intrigued.

Motivated simply by “biological curiosity,” he and his lab began to study the biophysics of the lily pad beetle. They found that the system is constantly on the verge of chaos, adding to the mystery surrounding this mode of transportation.

The most entertaining part of this? The beetles don’t seem to have a stop mechanism. In lab tests and on their native lily pads, the bugs simply run into the edge. They topple over themselves, looking absolutely ridiculous. So am I too upset something mastered water and air before me? Not really.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/science/an-insect-that-masters-water-and-air.html