Before revealing the secret of water striders, it is necessary to remember some basics of the physical properties of water. As is known, the air and water environments are separated by a special film of surface tension. At the boundary of two phases, the attractive forces arising between water molecules are not balanced, i.e. the sum of forces acting downwards turns out to be many times greater than the sum of forces acting upwards. Due to this, the density of the water in the reservoir is slightly higher than in the main water layer.
But that is not all! Molecules tending downward lead to the appearance of a kind of elastic membrane that is capable of supporting objects with a density higher than this on the surface of the water. However, there is one condition: these objects must be dry. If you wet them, they will independently attract water molecules to themselves, which will disrupt the structure of the surface film.
It is curious that these amazing physical properties of the water film are used for their own purposes by various. It is worth moving from physics to zoology. As is known, on the border of two habitats it has a very noticeable advantage. The most famous inhabitants of the surfaces of reservoirs are, of course, water striders.
Who are water striders?
These are small insects from the order Hemiptera. Simply put, these are bedbugs. Like their relatives, water striders are equipped with a piercing-sucking mouthparts (proboscis), which allows them to introduce special substances into the body of their prey that paralyze and decompose its tissues. This is necessary in order to suck the finished “broth” out of the victim.
Water striders are predatory creatures. Their main food is insects that accidentally fall on the surface of the water. If the future meal is large enough in size, then several water striders can feast on it at once. However, these creatures prefer to hunt and feed alone.
How does a water strider stay on the water?
This simple ability of water striders is explained by the physical properties of water described above. This is due to the so-called surface tension force. If we briefly retell the essence of this “trick,” we get the following: in the boundary layer between the air and the water column there are water molecules, which are acted upon from below (from the depths) by a force several times greater than from above. Because of this, a thin membrane is formed on the surface of the water. It is she who holds the water strider, which happily conducts its life activities.
When we are near bodies of water, we often see a small insect. This is a water strider. It belongs to the order of bedbugs. This order of insects contains more than 700 different species. Each has its own appearance and color. Its own peculiarities of existence.
Water strider - the name perfectly characterizes this baby. The body resembles a small twig. Its length does not exceed 3 centimeters. Thanks to its long thin legs, it glides along the water surface. But only as long as warm temperatures allow. With the arrival of winter, the water strider looks for warm shelters. Not far from bodies of water, they hide in warm crevices in the bark.
A small water strider moves through the water, as if cutting through the surface of the water on small skates. Easy and free. So easy that the film of water tension remains intact.
Small obstacles along the way do not delay her movement. The water strider easily jumps over them thanks to its long legs. If you look closely at its legs and body, you will notice that the hard hairs on it are covered with an adhesive substance.
This is necessary to ensure that the hairs do not get wet in the water. Widely spaced paws help maintain balance. Dexterity and swiftness also depend on the muscles that are on the paws. As is the speed of its sliding.
So, have we answered why the water strider still doesn’t sink? Hope so. After all, she still glides across bodies of water.
In summer weather, on the banks of a quiet river or pond, you can spot an interesting insect - the water bug. It is also called the water strider, which is more familiar to many of us. This name accurately reflects the lifestyle of a peculiar insect. They quickly glide along the surface of the water, spreading their long and thin legs. What kind of insects are these, their habitat, what do they eat and why were they called that?
Water striders belong to the family Hemiptera insects of the suborder bedbugs. Scientists count more than 700 species of these insects. We have the opportunity to observe in nature the most common species that lives on the surface of the water.
Whole body and tips of water bug legs covered with hard hairs that are not wetted by water. It is this water-repellent coating that allows the water strider to easily move through the water and not sink. They glide along the surface of the water, legs spread wide. They have 3 pairs of legs - the middle and hind ones are used for movement, support, and as a steering wheel. A pair of shorter front legs serves to hold prey and act as a kind of engine when moving.
To turn, the water strider moves its legs in different directions. Their elongated body may be length from 1 to 20 mm brown or dark brown color. When insects overcome obstacles, they can make jumps. They have remarkable vision, as well as the ability to transmit and receive information using vibrations in the surface of the water. Often the sensitive antennae are used by males to find a female to mate with.
River or lake individuals do not have wings because they do not need them. There are also insects that live in puddles. They have wings, which they need to move around when puddles dry up.
The most famous types include:
- large - the largest in our regions, their body length reaches 17 mm;
- slow stick-shaped water strider - lives in Siberia, and its body resembles a stick, which is why it is called that;
- pond - distinguished by the bright color of its legs.
The water strider bug is a group of insects that live on water. To remain on the surface of a reservoir, the beetle has a special structure: long legs, a narrow and non-massive body. The rapid movement of the water strider and the inability to drown - these factors are determined by the structure of the water (surface tension).
The main secret of this insect species, thanks to which it remains on the surface of the water, is the uniform distribution of body weight. For this purpose, paws of different lengths are provided, which allows you to compensate for the excess on the desired side. When wondering why water strider bugs don’t drown, you should know that the density of water does not allow the lightest bug to drown. Another factor that provides the ability to glide through water is the presence of waterproof hairs on the legs and a layer of fat on the abdomen.
Lifestyle
The beetle moves along the surface of the water using two pairs of hind legs; they have the greatest length. The front legs are designed to hold caught prey; the bug also uses them to change the direction of movement and set the desired speed. Water strider bugs live in ponds, rivers, lakes, and seas. Depending on the species, the insect may be able to fly from place to place.
Water bugs are able to jump over obstacles. If necessary, the beetle will glide and overcome any obstacles for hundreds of meters. This applies to a greater extent to marine insects. Pond and lake water striders live within the same body of water and try not to move long distances from the shore.
A group of water strider beetles attacking a horsefly
Bed bugs feed on a variety of foods: small insects, invertebrates, and fish fry. To catch prey, water striders can leave the water surface and go to land. On the shore they move as deftly as in the pond. In winter, insects sleep, returning to active life only closer to spring. This period takes place on land. And their main enemy is fish.
Life cycle nuances
Bedbug larva
The bug lays eggs, for which it chooses certain places in the pond. Most often these are the leaves of aquatic plants. The nesting method of insects of this species is unique - they arrange future offspring in a row.
Sometimes you can find a single or group clutch of insects. Often, to attach eggs, they use a mucous substance they secrete during laying.
Masonry is carried out throughout the summer period. Their number can reach 50 pieces. The emerging larvae are similar in appearance to adults, with the exception of some features: small size, slightly different body shape. At the initial stage of development they also feed on: insects and invertebrates.
Larvae eat the same food as adults
Appearance
There are about 700 species of such insects living in water bodies. Accordingly, external signs may differ significantly: color, structural features and even lifestyle. If we consider the common water strider, the following can be said about it: an oblong body up to 3 cm in length; 3 pairs of legs of different lengths; rather large eyes; waterproof fibers on the paws; The sensitivity of the bug is ensured by the antennae located on the head.
Body length is from 1 to 3 centimeters. The beetle also has 3 pairs of thin legs of varying lengths.
It feeds with the help of a trunk, through which it sucks out prey. Some species in this group have wings. The color of bedbugs also varies depending on the species: from light gray to dark brown. There are also green water striders.
Sensitive antennae are located on the head of the beetle; they act as an organ of smell and touch.
Overview of the most common types
Bedbugs living on the surface of the water are most often found in several varieties:
- A slow-moving rod-shaped water strider. From the name you can guess why this insect has such a name. In fact, the bug is so thin-bodied that it actually resembles a stick. This species is common in Siberia and some European countries.
- Pond is a winged insect. The main difference is the bright color.
- The water strider is big. It is characterized by large sizes (up to 17 mm) and has wings.
In tropical countries you can find even larger representatives of the family. They feed on small fish and can bite humans painfully.
Harm and benefit
This is one of the types of insects that do not attack humans first. However, if they are disturbed, they may well bite. The puncture site does not need to be treated. Considering their feeding habits, you can guess why these bugs can cause harm: they eat not only insects, but also prey on fish fry. If we are talking about rare species, they can cause serious damage to the waterfowl population.
Additionally, bedbugs clean the pond of dead insects after the winter period. Another feature is that they eat horse flies. This leads to a reduction in their number. Bedbugs attack adults and larvae. To kill horseflies, insects unite in groups.
Is it necessary to fight water striders?
Bugs that do not drown when moving through water do not cause harm, unless we are talking about fish farms for breeding rare waterfowl. In other cases, water striders are quite important insects. With their help, the pond is kept clean, since these bugs remove dead insects, be it a dead beetle, bee, etc. Additionally, such insects regulate the number of horseflies, which means they occupy an important place in the food chain and there is no need to fight them. water striders
There are a huge number of amazing creatures living in the world. Some live in the sky, others on the ground, and still others prefer water. However, there are those who skillfully combine all three elements at the same time. water strider And this is exactly what we will talk about in our article.
Water strider insect: why was the little bug called that?
"Water strider" is the name of the beetle, familiar to Russian-speaking countries. Our ancestors came up with this name by looking at the way the insect glides through water. They got the impression that with its movements it seemed to be measuring water. Moreover, this name became so attached to the beetle that even today it is still called. Although in English his name sounds like water strider, which means “running on water.”
General information about the species
It should be noted that this is a very common insect. The water strider lives almost everywhere, with the possible exception of the cold lands of the Arctic and Antarctic. Scientists classify these creatures as members of the family of hemiptera, a suborder of bedbugs. Today, more than 700 species of water striders are known, which differ not only in appearance and size, but also in their habitual way of life.
Appearance and distinctive features
So, what does a water strider look like? The insect, the photo of which looks more like a floating stick, has a rather long, elongated body. Depending on the subspecies, its size can range from 1-2 cm to 4-5 mm. At the same time, the insect that lives in the sea is considered the smallest.
The main feature of any water strider is its long legs. Often their size exceeds the body of the bug itself. Such proportions are due to the fact that the paws are the key to the survival of the species. After all, they are the ones that allow the insect to quickly glide across the water strider. In total, the water strider has six limbs. She also has wings, but she uses them quite rarely.
Most representatives of this species are painted in dull colors. The most common colors are brown and black. By the way, this color is not accidental - nature specially awarded it to the insect. The water strider is almost always found in open space, so dark colors that blend perfectly with the water are its only chance to protect itself from constantly hungry birds and amphibians.
Ability to run on waves
The water strider is an insect whose description always boils down to a story about its amazing ability to withstand the water element. So how does she manage not to drown? The thing is that the bedbug's legs are covered with a special substance that resembles fat in its structure. This creates a kind of barrier that prevents the limbs from submerging in the water.
In addition, the insect knows how to correctly distribute weight: the load does not fall on one point, but is evenly transferred to all six limbs. As for the high speed of movement, it is achieved through fast, impulse strokes. It is they who create turbulence behind the water strider, which pushes it forward.
It is noteworthy that the bug can swim both on mirror-smooth surfaces and among waves. It is this skill that allows water striders to settle in various types of reservoirs, which significantly increases their survival rate, and, consequently, the population.
Diet
Do not think that this is a peaceful insect; the water strider is a real predator. She boldly attacks any small creature that is unlucky enough to find itself on the surface of the water. Such impudence is completely justified, since other insects are not able to fight back, being in an element alien to them.
The hunting principle of water striders is very simple. As soon as the prey falls into the water, they swim up to it with lightning speed and cling to the body with hook-shaped front legs. Then the predator pierces the prey's shell using a sharp proboscis located on the head. Afterwards, the water strider can only suck the liquid from the body of the unfortunate creature.
Features of behavior of water striders
Many people mistakenly assume that this is an exclusively aquatic insect. The water strider indeed spends most of its life in the pond, but this does not mean that it is not capable of conquering other elements. For example, she has wings that allow her to make short flights. She uses them if her native reservoir begins to dry up and she needs to find a new shelter.
These bugs can also crawl on the ground. They do this very ineptly, since their thin legs constantly get stuck in small cracks and breaks. However, despite this, land is vital for them. The thing is that water striders cannot spend the winter in water, and therefore look for a warm home in the ground or in a tree. Thus, this one is truly unique, because it managed to conquer three elements at once.
Natural enemies
The main enemies of water striders are birds and amphibians. The former catch insects in calm sunny weather, while the latter skillfully track them at the edge of the shore. Naturally, they cannot cause much harm to the population, but individual individuals will clearly have to come to terms with a sad fate.