mystery insect
Location: South of Ireland
September 23, 2011 7:16 pm
Could you please identify the insect in the attaced photo. There are many of them in a river near my home in Ireland.
Signature: David
Water Striders
Hi David,
Water Striders are such common insects on ponds, lakes, streams and slow moving rivers, that we cannot understand why they are so underrepresented on our site. Because the spread of their legs distributes their weight evenly across a greater surface area, Water Striders are able to skate across the water without breaking the surface. Water Striders feed on small insects that fall onto the water’s surface. One group of ocean dwelling Water Striders contains the only true pelagic insects that are found far out to sea on the open ocean.
Hawaiian salt water gerride
Location: Maui west side
March 7, 2011 10:49 pm
These striders are out in the waves of the Lahaina area. I only see them in smooth water, they go somewhere else when the wind comes up. Those back fins are used for speed, I have not been able to get a photo of a live one. It looks like they can dive under water, but I’m not positive since they are so fast they seem to disappear. Is there an ID for ocean striders?
Signature: w
Pelagic Water Strider
Dear w,
Thanks for sending these photos of Pelagic Water Striders found in the open ocean. Your observations are quite informative. We have located an online pdf originally published in 1937 entitled “Biological Notes on the Pelagic Water Striders (Halobates) of the Hawaiian Islands, with Description of a New Species from Waikiki (Gerridae, Hemiptera).” The article identifies the pelagic species Halobates sericeus and indicates another species Halobates hawaiiensis, which is found closer to shore, apparently in calmer waters. Here is an excerpt from this published paper by ROBERT I. USINGER : “The reputed diving ability of these bugs is a subject of considerable controversy. Thus Murray,3 Walker,4 and Henry5 state positively that these bugs dive beneath the surface, while Hay6 and Delsman7 were unable, under any circumstances, to induce them to dive. My own observations are as follows. Neither in captivity nor under natural conditions was I ever able to force Halobates nymphs or adults to dive beneath the surface. In Micronesia I have stood in shallow water amidst many thousands of these bugs and have tried in every way to frighten them or force them to dive. They jump frequently and may move in this way so quickly that they seem to disappear. On the other hand I took a glass plate and forced a number of individuals a foot or two below the surface, holding them there to observe their actions. They were able to swim with very jerky, awkward movements first downward, thence out beyond the edge of the glass and up toward the surface where they quickly broke through the surface film to freedom.“ BugGuide indicates that the genus Halobates contains: “The only true marine insects. Can be found in the open ocean“, but BugGuide does not have any images.
Pelagic Water Strider
Purple beach bug
April 17, 2010
I was on the beach yesterday and noticed a lot of these little critters flopping about. I was right near the water line, and I’m not sure if these were water critters that were getting beached or if they were beach critters that were getting swamped. They are small, about 2-3mm in length. As you can see, they have long appendages, but I couldn’t tell you for sure whether they are all legs or legs and antennae. Between the wind and the water, I couldn’t get one to stay still long enough to really see. Any ideas?
Dreamybee
Windward/North shore, O’ahu, Hawaii
Possibly Water Strider
Dear Dreamybee,
Many things in the world of insects and other arthropods resemble other creatures and mimicry is often used as a survival strategy. Our first impression, before lightening your image, was that this might be a Harvester missing a few legs, but we quickly ruled that out. The creature does appear to have six legs and antennae which is consistent with it being an insect. The front legs appear to be raptoral, a characteristic of many true bugs including predatory aquatic bugs. The behavior you describe was key to our hypothesis that this is some species of Water Strider in the infraorder Gerromorpha which is represented by several families on BugGuide. The inhabitants of family Gerridae are known as the Water Striders, and according to BugGuide the habitat is the “surface of temporary or permanent ponds, and slow-moving areas of streams and rivers.“ One of the photos posted on BugGuide looks very similar to the shape of your creature. Another family in the infraorder Gerromorpha is Veliidae, and the inhabitants are called the Broad-Shouldered Water Striders. One image posted to BugGuide from Florida and it is listed as a Marine Water Strider, Trochopus plumbeus. While we do not think that either of the images on BugGuide are your species, we do feel that they are close enough in appearance and behavior to lend credence to our hypothesis. We eagerly welcome more authoritative assistance with this identification.
Eric Eaton provides information
April 19, 2010
The “unknown creature” from the Hawaiian beach is indeed a water strider, possibly of the genus Halobates, which are pelagic (“open ocean”) water striders. There are, however, at least a couple of other genera of marine water striders in Hawaii. The person who sent the image might consult the Bishop Museum in Hawaii to see what they have to say.
Eric
Water bug of some sort
April 12, 2010
Hi WTB,
On my hiking trip to Eastern Samaria (north-east of Jerusalem, Israel) on April 9-10, 2010 I came across this hemipteran. There were lots of them skating on the water of a spring, but they don’t look like water striders and I wasn’t able to find out what they are. Any ideas?
Ben
Eastern Samaria, Israel
Water Cricket
Hi again Ben,
BugGuide lists two families in the Infraorder Gerromorpha that includes the Water Striders that look like good possibilities. Based on the photos on BugGuide, our first guess would be a Broad Shouldered Water Strider in the family Veliidae. Other names for these insects are Riffle Bugs and Ripple Bugs, and they are described as having a “pronotum broader than abdomen (as reflected in the common name); hind femur not longer than abdomen; pre-apical tarsal claws; usually wingless and dark-colored, sometimes with silvery markings.“ The other possibility is the family Mesoveliidae, the Water Treaders, which BugGuide describes as being “Found on aquatic vegetation or running on the surface of the water. Fairly common around ponds.”
More Water Striders
November 24, 2009
Hi Bugman,
I saw your comment about the dearth of water striders on WTB, so I thought I’d send these your way. The first one I’m pretty sure is Aquarius remigis based on images on BugGuide and its large size. According to BugGuide this is one of the largest and most common water striders in North America. The second one looks like something different though, based on the white markings on the thorax and abdomen. My best guess is something in the genus Gerris but there’s only one image on BugGuide that looks close. Both of these were found in August 2008, running around on Cascade Creek, Minnesota in large groups.
Joel Gardner (clickbeetle)
Cascade Creek (near Grand Marais, MN)
Water Strider: Aquarius remigis
Hi Joel,
Thanks so much for your wonderful contribution of additional Water Strider images for our website.
Water Strider: Gerris species
November 20, 2009
The following water bug pix were taken at Hans Botel Cottage, Cape Coast, Ghana.
AJ
Water Striders from Ghana
Dear AJ,
The spareness of your words is amusing. Our readership tends to be hungry for information, and your succinct entries just leaves them salivating for more. These are Water Striders, aquatic True Bugs that skate on the surface of ponds and other bodies of water, waiting for insects to fall in which they feed upon. Though Water Striders in the family Gerridae are quite common in North America and other places around the world, this posting represents a brand new category for our site that previously experienced a noticeable dearth of Water Strider images.
Water Striders
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