Skating Striders by Enmos
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Description
Thanks for viewing !! :o)
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The Common Pond Skater or Water Strider, Gerris lacustris.
It is brownish-black in colour, with a narrow body. The forelegs are short and used for grasping
and holding prey. The middle and hind legs are long and slender; the hind pair are used as 'rudders',
while the middle pair of legs are used to propel the bug along the surface of the water with either
a rowing or a jumping motion. All true bugs have sucking mouthparts, known as a rostrum or 'beak';
this pond skater has a short, powerful rostrum. Both winged and wingless forms occur; in winged
pond skaters the wings are held folded flat against the body. Inhabits a wide range of water bodies,
including garden ponds, ditches, streams and rivers.
Adults emerge after over wintering towards the end of April or in early May, and females lay eggs in
May. The eggs take around 12-14 days to develop, but the time taken until hatching is dependent on
the temperature. Bugs undergo a type of development known as incomplete metamorphosis in which
the larvae or 'nymphs' progress through a series of moults. The stages between moults are known as
'instars'; in this species there are 5 instars, each one progressively longer than the last. It takes
between 24 and 30 days for pond skater larvae to develop into adults, with winged forms taking longer
to reach maturity.
Observations: I photographed these two in my fathers new pond about three weeks ago, and as you
can clearly see they are still procreating... so... three weeks ago... that wasnt May. I visited my father
yesterday, and there a lot of tiny pond skaters now, AND they were at 'it' again lol :o)
Ive seen these creatures do fantastic acrobatics stunts on the water as well, including very quick
repetitive jumping on the water which seems to be used to scare off other pond skaters. Anyways, i
just think there are incredibly interesting creatures, they look kinda cute too in their own way ;o)
Have an excellent 'reverse humpday' !! ;oP
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Thanks for all your wonderful comments on
my last upload, "Simple Beauty" !!
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Many thanks,
Jeroen
Comments (47)
kimariehere
LOL- THEY look like THEY Are having a good time .. you never fail to impress us with your mastery what an amazing find AND CAPTURE!!!! AWESOME!!!!! love the info too!!! WOWWWWWW!!
diomedes66
I think their short forelegs do a tad bit more than just hold prey :-) Magnificent macro!
RNitze
Waterbug porn! LOL!!!! Fantastic Picture!
WandM
Ready? Go! ;) Impressive.
DELMUR
Super beautifull as always , but a a shock this time, when i understood what they did,i hope they don't use condom. ( A Benoit XVI) recommendation)....
CDBrugg
'fighting for peace is like procreating for virginity'?
francinechristophe
Beautiful capture and very interesting comment !
hasexx
famous shot!!!
BorisB
Hot scene, wow!
sharky_
I bet the people at NASA learned from these insects using the piggyback passenger technique to transport the Space Shuttle on the Boeing aircraft back home. Excellent shot. Aloha
patmartj
Lovely capture
fixair
Biin, and love in all that? one respacte more nothing !! good job ;op
faby
Tr joli!!:))
GBCalls
Magnum detail- excellent work.
Margana
Lol!It seems you found a particularly oversexed population there!Maybe your father's pond is a popular honeymoon destination,lol...Fascinating upload as usual Jeroen.Have a great one.-M :)
1pearl
Excellent macro and shot !!!
marybelgium
another great find and shot ! very well captured !
WonderfulCreation
cool depth of field en oppervlaktespanning :D
Zacko
Now these two have definitly understood the meaning of humpday, lol. Impressive macro as always buddy. Looks so beautiful with the water meeting that waterlilly and all. Most impressive! Have a wonderful saturday Jeroen. #:O)
tizjezzme
God, you're Good..... this is excellent.
dtp
do not go fuder " I am scared of hight....
donvino
excellent find and capture, beautiful light!!!
rayburg
Looks like they're practicing their pond shkating routine..Another great pic by the master
CavalierLady
Fabulous shot... color, clarity, composition, ... top notch as all your photos are!
hammond73
They look very happy in their new home. Wonderful work.
spselfr
I have never seen them not on water that is really cool looking
nathalie06
Strange and splendid insects ! Their life being so short, procreation is of course very important. Thank you for all information that you gave us. This insect, in particular on the level of its various type of legs, has an incredible adaptation ! The colors and the silver plated reflections of its body are superb.
Punaguy
Very impressive capture here of these little guys/gals in action...nice meatalic look to their bodies, and as always so clean...Impressive work! Aloha!
pm_hackworth
Excellent and VOTE!! ;0)
iaacf
Got inspiration from me ? ? hehehehe.. Beautiful captured insects. You prove to be the true macro master over and over again...