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Creek Critters Water Striders by Bonnie Ross Among aquatic insects, long-legged water striders are about the easiest to see. They live on the water surface film and they tend to congregate in large numbers. One genus, would you believe, lives on the surface of the ocean, sometimes many miles from land! Water striders belong to the family Gerridae within the order Hemiptera, or "true bugs." Being a "bug" they do not undergo complete metamorphosis, and don't go through the larval and pupal life stages many other insects, such as butterflies and beetles, experience. Instead they hatch from an egg, then become a nymph and undergo five molting periods called instars, each causing them to increase in size and look a little more like a mature adult. Water strider adults overwinter in protected areas near the water's edge. Eggs are laid in the spring and summer. As with all aquatic insects, adaptations allow them to survive in their unique niche. Water strider legs are adapted to "skate" on the surface film as they possess fine hairs that resist water saturation and do not break through the surface film. They are carnivorous, using their short forelegs for grasping prey rather than for skating. They capture terrestrial insects that fall on the surface or aquatic life forms that come to the surface to breathe.
Being a member of the "true bug" clan they are equipped with
a long proboscis normally used to inject their prey in order
to suck out body juices. The proboscis can also deliver a
wicked sting to human hands. So, when searching for water
striders to observe, it is best to just watch them and
appreciate their unusual place in Nature.
Sacramento Urban Creeks Council |
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