Jezus bugs

Description:

Family Gerridae are physically characterised by having hydrofuge hair piles, retractable pre apical claws, and elongated legs and body. They have two antennae with four segments on each. The thorax of water striders is generally long, narrow, and small in size. It generally ranges from 1.6 mm to 36 mm long across the species, with some bodies more cylindrical or rounder than others. There are a front pair, middle, and back pair of legs. The front legs are shortest and have preapical claws adapted to puncture prey. Preapical claws are claws that are not at the end of the leg, but rather halfway through, like mantids. The middle legs are longer than the first pair and shorter than the last pair and are adapted for propulsion through the water. The hind pair are the longest and are used for spreading weight over a large surface area as well as steering the bug across the surface of the water.

Habitat:

Yoda Lake, Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka. Near Yala National Park and coast.

Notes:

Water striders are able to walk on top of water due to a combination of several factors. Water striders use the high surface tension of water and long, hydrophobic legs to help them stay above water. Gerridae species use this surface tension to their advantage through their highly adapted legs and distributed weight. The legs of a water strider are long and slender, allowing the weight of the water strider body to be distributed over a large surface area. The legs are strong, but have flexibility that allows the water striders to keep their weight evenly distributed and flow with the water movement. Hydrofuge hairs line the body surface of the water strider. There are several thousand hairs per square millimeter, providing the water strider with a hydrofuge body that prevents wetting from waves, rain, or spray, which could inhibit their ability to keep their entire body above the water surface if the water stuck and weighed down the body. This position of keeping the majority of the body above the water surface is called an epipleustonic position, which is a defining characteristic of water striders. If the body of the water strider were to accidentally become submerged, for instance by a large wave, the tiny hairs would trap air. Tiny air bubbles throughout the body act as buoyancy to bring the water strider to the surface again, while also providing air bubbles to breathe from underwater. The tiny hairs on the legs provide both a hydrophobic surface as well as a larger surface area to spread their weight over the water. The middle legs used for rowing have particularly well developed fringe hairs on the tibia and tarsus to help increase movement through the ability to thrust. The hind pair of legs are used for steering. When the rowing stroke begins, the middle tarsi of gerrids are quickly pressed down and backwards to create a circular surface wave in which the crest can be used to propel a forward thrust. The semicircular wave created is essential to the ability of the water strider to move rapidly since it acts as a counteracting force to push against. As a result, water striders often move at 1 meter per second or faster! They are also knowns as water striders, water bugs, magic bugs, pond skaters, skaters, skimmers, water scooters, water skaters, water skeeters, water skimmers, water skippers, water spiders,