Pond Frog Attacks Ovipositing Dragonfly - Dramatic Struggle for Survival 240fps

A mature female of white-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum speciosum, family Libellulidae) was found hovering alone and tapping repeatedly the surface of shallow water with her tail to lay her eggs in a montane pond. Her male partner was supposed to guard her nearby from rival males during the labour of oviposition, but nowhere to be found on this occasion, somehow. The wingbeats in oviposition were also recorded at 240-fps high-speed movie or 8x slow-motion (0:23 - 1:46). Meanwhile, several dark-spotted frogs (aka black-spotted pond frog, and black-spotted frog; Pelophylax nigromaculatus, family Ranidae) were lurking along the shoreline of the pond, laying in ambush for prey. And one of the frogs leapt high from the shore to catch the ovipositing dragonfly in the air. After a successful hunt, the frog drowned the prey in its mouth under water. After a while, the frog swallowed the whole subdued dragonfly as the large eyeballs retracted. And then the frog went back to the shore, waiting patiently for the next prey. As you can see, the body colouration of the dark-spotted frog was well-camouflaged among the backdrop around the pond as an ambush predator. Therefore, it was a good example of aggressive mimicry (or the so-called Peckhamian mimicry) as well as the protective colouration (cryptic colouration). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggressive_mimicry The death of the ovipositing dragonfly by a predatory frog may look tragic. But when her offspring nymphs of the white-tailed skimmer hatch from eggs a week later, they would often prey on the tadpoles (larvae) of dark-spotted frogs in the pond. Karma of the food chain at work. Captured in the sunny early-afternoon (around 12:45 PM) of early-June 2026 in Japan. For a full story (text in Japanese); https://sigma-nature-vlog.blogspot.com/2026/06/fhd_0780972675.html 0:00 60 fps FHD 0:23 240 fps (8x slo-mo) 1:47 60 fps FHD