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)
pimbotin
Doing this kind of exercice while skating on the water!!! My God! They are really good! They should learn us their skill.. ;-)
kennyliu
Great timing!
tesla
There using the Lily Pad like it is a water bed!!!Xlent macro!!!
Tedz
When I wuz a wee Boy....I knew these as "Row Boats"...fine Image Sir!
cynlee
they are fun to watch... looks like you could've gotten in the water with them to capture this great shot :]
tibet2004uk
Ooooooh cheeky!!! great capture Jeroen!!
Richardphotos
I have seen these skaters many times but never up close. I suppose these two was too involved to be afraid of your approach. perfect focus and macro
soulofharmony
see you call it skating in holland.. winks.. beautiful macro.. jerone awesome quality.. sublime my friend :)
jcv2
He he, procreation and exponential growth - seems to me there's a predatore needed here! :) Fantastic work, Jeroen, thank you for sharing!
Digimon
Fantastic metalic skins! Excellent photo!!
geneb19
it's always such a pleasure seeing your art Jeroen. i truly look forward to each and every image my friend!
tvernuccio
Wow! awesome shot, Jeroen!!!! You caught them in the act, and it's just marvelous! compo is right on! love the lighting and shadows too! very beautiful!
Pierre59
Excellente prise de vue, bravo Jeroen !!!
hotracer2
Great image and loved reading the story about them, thanks for sharing:):):):)
sossy
fantastic find and brilliant macro! ;o)
maggiemai
Pond skating routine... LOL @ ray! This is another macro that could only be taken by the King of Macros ~ Enmos!! You are sooooooooo good at this!!! Excellent ~ VOTE :-)
Ti-Paul
Hello Mr Bugman!Love is in the air!:)How do you do it ,by comming up with winner after winners all the time?Like i said before ,you sure know your stuff man!Awesome shot! I would'nt except anything else from the "Master"!Bravo! Have a great week-end my friend!