|Water Strider - Gerris spp.| Family: Gerridae (Leach, 1815) --
water striders / Genus: Gerris (Fabricius, 1794) Live adult
water striders photographed in the wild on Sawmill Creek at
Darien, Illinois, USA. Insects & Spiders | Bugs Main | Bugs
Index | Assassin Bugs | Plant Bugs | Ambush Bugs Water strider,
wingless - about 10mm Water striders' legs are covered with
microsetae, microscopic hairs that trap tiny bubbles of air,
allowing them to float on top of the water. Water striders are
predacious and carnivorous. The front legs have become shortened
and adapted to catching and holding prey while the bug sucks out
internal juices (fig.1). The middle set of legs are used like
oars to propel the bug through the water, and the hind legs are
used for steering. Water striders can vary in length from 1.6 mm
to 36 mm. Their body shape ranges from slender and elongate to
almost completely round. Similar to other bug groups (such as
Pyrrhocoridae), the development of wings can vary significantly
within the same popula