Common Pondskater

• It does not float: it rests on surface tension thanks to thousands of microscopic water-repellent hairs on its legs that trap air and stop the water from wetting them.
• It detects its prey by the ripples they make as they struggle, and males court females by generating ripples of a particular frequency with their legs, a language written on the water.
• It can propel itself at more than a metre per second, and some species in the group can leap off the surface without breaking it.
• It walks on water because its whole body, legs included, is covered in minute wax-coated hairs that trap air and exploit surface tension.
• It moves at a metre and a half a second by rowing with its middle pair of legs, while the front pair holds the prey and the rear pair steers.
• It detects prey from the ripples that insects falling into the water make in the surface film, sensing them with its front legs.
• It has winged and wingless forms depending on how stable the habitat is; the winged ones fly in search of water and are drawn to reflective surfaces, which is why they appear at a newly filled pond within minutes.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat and environment

The surface of ponds, river backwaters and still water

Sexual maturity

Five nymphal instars; the change from nymph to adult takes between 24 and 30 days

Gestation / incubation

The eggs take 12 to 14 days to hatch

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Gerris lacustris · Forth Rivers Trust, ficha Pond skater · Ficha de especie de Gerris lacustris · Nature Journeys

Best time: Adults visible from April to November on still or slow-flowing water; it overwinters as an adult out of the water