how did it get here?

[peter hillman]

Spotted this water spider today, but how did it get here? It was super active and very wary of my presence. Had super zoom on him. Some years ago I brought some home from the river, they didn't last long and it's been a long time since I've seen any.

 

[Smaug]

The same way frogs that I didn't put there end up in my pond. Then the snakes!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

"Build it and they will come."

 

[Smaug]

"Build it and they will come."

I keep waiting for the free koi.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I keep waiting for the free koi.

Sorry, that is part of the build.

 

[Timothy]

When I was in Vietnam during the monsoon season it would rain minnows. True! We suspected that the evaporation rate was so high tiny eggs would get drawn up into the atmosphere and then get rained back to earth. There would be dry areas in roads, fields etc. that would after a rain have tiny minnows in the puddles left behind.
I don't know it for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was the same situation with the water spiders. We get them here as well - they just seem to "show up", and we are a looong walk for one of these critters from the next wet area.
Another possibility would be eggs in bird leavings.

 

[MitchM]

Here, we have water beetles and water backswimmers fall from the sky, even though we are the highest point for miles around.