Post #15043

Water striders: We've seen them since childhood, but we don't know anything. And some facts are a brain explosion Water striders need no introduction. They have become so familiar that the average person thinks he knows everything about them. Only it's not like that. The expert has arrived. Let's play a game: I'll ask you five questions and you'll answer each one before you read the corresponding section of the article. And then, at the end of the text, I will give you an assessment of your knowledge, like a school biology teacher. Well, are you ready? So here are five questions, think carefully: 1) Why don’t water striders drown? 2) What do they eat? 3) What group of insects do they belong to? 4) Where do water striders live? 5) How do they reproduce? Why don't water striders drown? The short answer I'll give you credit for is because they have hairy legs. And if you need details, here they are: the feet of all four walking legs of water striders are covered with many hairs, lubricated with fat from special glands. Air bubbles always remain under the hairs, so the foot does not sink, but rests on the surface tension film of water. Essentially, the animal walks on four air cushions. What do water striders eat? Water striders are active predators that primarily feed on insects. Insects that have fallen on the water, floating larvae or even fish fry are a favorite and respected delicacy. However, water striders from the genus Halobates have a different diet - they do not hesitate to eat carrion and zooplankton - small crustaceans that sometimes swim too close to the surface of the water. Correct answer: most feed on insects and aquatic larvae that have fallen on the water. Some are carrion and zooplankton. What group of insects do water striders belong to? The vast majority of insects belong to one of the largest orders of insects. All beetles are Coleoptera. All ants, bees, wasps and hornets are Hymenoptera. But butterflies and moths are lepidopterans. Water striders are no exception here and are included in the order of hemipteran insects. Simply put, they are bedbugs. What they have in common with the notorious bedbugs is a complex and advanced proboscis, which water striders use to pierce the protective coverings of their prey, pump it with toxic saliva and suck out the resulting nutritious soup. By the way, they can also bite humans. And it is quite painful, although not dangerous. Where do water striders live? “A simple question,” you say. “On the surface of lakes, swamps and large puddles,” you answer. And for this answer you earn 0.5 points, because it is incomplete. Water striders also live in the ocean! The previously mentioned Halobates is a genus of 40 species of sea water striders. They can go for generations without setting foot on the ground, feeding on zooplankton and dead jellyfish. Holobates lay their eggs on marine debris: feathers, boards, plastic and on the remains of larger anim