A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Gerridae
Gerridae is a family of true bugs in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water bugs, magic bugs, pond skaters, skaters, skimmers, water scooters, water skaters, water skeeters, water skimmers, water skippers, water spiders, or Jesus bugs. One main characteristic that sets gerrids and other true bugs apart from other insects is that the front wing is only half functional. Rather than using it for flight, it acts as a membranous covering and the thickened part is by where claws develop. Consistent with the classification of Gerridae as true bugs, gerrids have a mouthpart specially designed for piercing and sucking, Gerrids distinguish themselves by having the unique ability to walk on water. Gerridae, or water striders, are anatomically built to transfer their weight to be able to run on top of the water's surface. As a result, one could likely find water striders present in any pond, river, or lake. Scientists have identified over 1,700 species of Gerrids, 10% of them being marine.[3]
On puddle on country road.
Spotted on Jun 12, 2011
Submitted on Jun 12, 2011
2 Comments
Thank you abtaylor! I'll update my "spotting" now! :)
That's actually an insect, not a spider. The common name is a water strider. From the insect family gerridae.