Yes the beetles return to the surface to breathe and fill up their air bubble
they carry under their wing case.
They are one of the slickest and fastest swimmers in the aquatic insect world.
They eat any animal in the pond they can tackle leaving only the bones behind
and they can deliver a powerful bite, so be careful.
As far as catching one I think the same rules apply for catching fish, one of
the easiest ways is to just drain the pond down.
You could set a trap of sorts. Use a minnow trap and put a chicken leg in it or
suspend a chicken leg above a net in the water and wait...
And hope that no eggs were laid.

Dragonfly nymphs will attack tiny fish but usually aren't much of a problem as
they are also food for older fish.
As a pond ages it is good to have some predators around to keep the fish
population from exploding.

good luck and let us know what happens!



k30a