Almost always, while resting by the water, one has to observe a small insect with exorbitantly long legs, which very quickly and dexterously glides over the surface of the water. This is a water strider bug: its very name speaks of the main difference between this species and other similar insects.
The bug with extraordinary dexterity is controlled with its paws and moves across the water like a skater on ice. They used to say that the bug "measures the water", which is why the well-known name stuck to it.
What does a water strider look like
There are a great many species of water striders - about 700. All of them differ from each other in appearance, color and lifestyle.
The waterman's narrow elongated body bug (its size can vary from 1 mm to 3 cm) is similar to a small stick, equipped with 3 pairs of legs of various lengths. The front legs are much shorter than the others, they are used to capture prey and adjust the speed of movement on the water.
The middle and hind legs are one and a half to two times the length of the body of the bug itself and are used as a reliable support and turning mechanism, as well as for making jumps.
The bug is kept on the water due to the force of the surface tension of the latter, creating a kind of film. The bug on its legs, like a man on skis, glides over the surface, never falling through the water.
On the head of the water strider there are sensitive antennae, which help the insect to catch the sound vibrations of the water surface. Antennae also act as an organ of smell and touch.
The oral apparatus is represented by a segmented piercing-sucking proboscis used by the bug for sucking the contents of the body of its victim.
Some riders have wings that make it possible to travel long distances in search of new reservoirs, temporarily populate puddles. However, fly bugs are not very fond of and try to do it in exceptional cases. Wingless bugs live all their lives in the same pond.
The body color of different types of water striders can vary from light gray and greenish to dark brown. On the lower surface of the back is usually mottled pattern.No very noticeable or bright pictures can be found on it. How exactly the adult water striker looks like can be seen in the photo below:
Bedbugs lay eggs on the leaves and stems of aquatic plants. Sometimes round whitish eggs are arranged separately, next to each other, but more often they are fastened with a mucous substance in the form of a ribbon of 40-50 pieces.
The larva of this water bug is in many respects similar to the adult individual - imago, but has a more swollen and shorter body. It is called a nymph and eats the same food as an adult insect. In the photo, next to each other, are the boaters' larvae:
It is interesting
The water strider's long legs are covered with microscopic hairs that trap air and help the bedbug to keep its balance. The belly is also covered with whitish hairs and smeared with wax-like liquid, which literally repels water. If you try to "drown" waterman, nothing will come of it. In the water column, the insect will be surrounded by a multitude of air bubbles and will look silver.
The most famous types of water striders are:
- A bigman, one of the largest representatives of this family in our country. The length of her body can reach 17 mm.
- A water strider is slow, rod-shaped, found in Siberia and having a body so thin that it really looks like a wand.
- The pond pond water striker is remarkable in that it has variegated feet.
In the tropics there are the largest types of water striders who can hunt small fish and bite a person rather painfully.
Lifter bugger lifestyle
For his life, the bugman chooses calm standing waters or rivers with very slow currents. Thanks to its comfortable long legs, the water strider can easily move not only along the surface of the water, but also over land. This gives the bug the opportunity to live near the water and wait there for its prey.
It feeds on small invertebrates, insects (even horse flies) and fish fry. Large spherical eyes (the bug has excellent eyesight) help to quickly notice the prey and attack it with a sharp proboscis. At the same time, the water strider keeps escaping prey with tenacious front paws.
Water striders themselves often become prey to fish, as well as hosts for the small parasite - the larvae of the water mite that drinks their blood. In a bug affected by such a larva, a red dot can be seen on the breast under a microscope.
In winter, water striders are not active and hibernate, settling near their reservoir.With the onset of heat, they again begin the old life, actively reproduce.
The breeding process is very interesting: the male climbs onto the female, but if she does not want to mate, he beats the paws on the water. These sound waves attract predators - water strikers' enemies. The female is afraid of such a threat and agrees to contact.
Eggs are harvested for about a week, then they are laid either on aquatic plants in the form of a ribbon (in large species), or directly into the cavity of the leaves of plants (in small species). In large water striders, the clutch looks like a ribbon of eggs, held together by mucus. In small bugs such mucus is not produced.
After a couple of weeks, the larvae emerge from the egg, which will develop about a month, passing through several stages of molting. Waterman lives about 1 year.
It is interesting
With the onset of cold weather winged water striders are prepared for wintering on land. During this period, the muscles responsible for lifting the wings atrophy, and the wings themselves fall off, and the adult individual becomes wingless.
Is the water strider harmful?
A waterman's bug does not pose any danger to humans. Only in rare cases when the bug perceives a threat or danger, can it bite.This bite is similar to a weak injection and does not even require special treatment, does not itch and does not hurt.
The only damage a water strider can bring is eating fry of valuable fish. The watercaster very willingly attacks the fry of early age and kills them, sucking the contents of the body. Sometimes it can devour clutch of fish caviar.
However, even for full saturation, the water strider needs only a little food, and the fishes living in the water column provide for the bug, rather, an addition to the usual diet, which is based on insects and mosquitoes that have fallen on the surface of the water. This means that for fish farms or livelihoods of individual reservoirs, the bug does not carry a tangible threat.
It is interesting
Recently, scientists have discovered an interesting and useful feature of water strider bugs: it turns out that these insects play a large role in reducing the number of gadflies. Gadfly females lay their eggs in water, and their larvae develop here. Water striders with the same hunt attack both adult flies and larvae. In this case, an adult horsefly is large enough prey for a water strider, and it is usually attacked by several bugs together.Several bedbugs can suck horsefly in a few minutes, while one individual usually spends from 40 minutes to 1 hour.
The bug of a water strider is not a parasite and does not cause any trouble to the person. This insect almost all of its active life spends on the surface of the water: there it multiplies, feeds and rests.
In the pond where these small bugs live, you can swim without fear, and in your free time you can watch the endless running of the bugs in the water, resembling a chaotic dance.
Videography: watercaster bug
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Here they write that the bite does not itch and does not hurt. So this is not true! I cleaned the pond recently from duckweed and I was bitten by water striders. The bite site has been scratching for a week, it festers and hurts.