How toadstools run on water. Which of the inhabitants of wildlife can walk on water and why An animal that runs on water
Before revealing the secret of water striders, it is necessary to remember some basics of the physical properties of water. As you know, air and water environments are separated by a special surface tension film. At the boundary of two phases, the attractive forces arising between water molecules are not balanced, i.e. the sum of the forces acting downward is many times greater than the sum of the forces acting upward. Due to this, the density of the water of the reservoir is slightly higher than in the main water layer.
But that's not all! Molecules tending down lead to the emergence of a kind of elastic membrane, which is able to support objects with a density higher than this on the surface of the water. However, there is one condition: these objects must be dry. If they are wetted, they will independently attract water molecules to themselves, which will disrupt the structure of the surface film.
It is curious that these amazing physical properties of the water film are used for their own purposes by various. It is worth moving from physics to zoology. As you know, on the border of two habitats, it has a very noticeable advantage. The most famous inhabitants of the surfaces of reservoirs are, of course, water striders.
Who are water striders?
These are small insects from the Hemiptera order. In other words, they are bedbugs. Like their relatives, water striders are equipped with a piercing-sucking mouth apparatus (proboscis), which allows you to introduce special substances into the body of your prey that paralyze and decompose its tissues. This is necessary in order to suck out the finished "broth" from the victim.
Water striders are predatory creatures. Their main food is insects that accidentally fall on the surface of the water. If the future dinner is large enough in size, then several water striders can feast on it at once. However, these creatures prefer to hunt and feed alone.
How does a water strider stay on the water?
This simple ability of water striders is explained by the physical properties of water described above. This is due to the so-called surface tension force. Briefly retelling the essence of this "trick", we get the following: in the boundary layer between the air and the water column there are water molecules, which are acted upon from below (from the depths) by a force several times greater than from above. Because of this, a kind of thinnest membrane forms on the surface of the water. It is she who keeps the water strider, which leads its life with pleasure.
Do you know about animals that can walk on water? Maybe you can remember one or two, but there are many more.
Lizard Basilisk
The Basilisk lizard, also known as the Jesus Christ lizard, escapes predators by throwing itself from the top of the tree where it lives and running across the surface of the river below the tree. They can reach impressive speeds of over 1.5 meters per second.
Lizards have long toes with strips of skin between them, and they quickly kick the water with their feet to create an air pocket as they run, which helps them stay afloat as long as they maintain their speed. When they fall into the water, they can swim, but prefer to run as they are also at risk of being eaten by water-dwelling animals.
Brazilian pygmy geckos
This tiny lizard is not only very cute, but also very gifted. Due to its light weight and hydrophobic skin, the gecko can easily walk on the surface of the water. Because geckos are so small (smaller than many of the insects that live in the Amazon rainforest), they are at risk of drowning in even the smallest puddle—scientists believe this is how their ability to walk on water evolved.
water striders
Water bugs - also known as Jesus bugs, water striders, and water skippers - are members of the water strider insect family and are distinguished by their ability to walk on water. They do this with hydrophobic legs that help increase the surface tension of the water, and distribute weight evenly across all legs. Their movements are also assisted by the middle legs, moving in circles like the oars of a boat, propelling them forward.
fishing spiders
Fishing spiders (also known as pisaurid spiders) are semi-aquatic creatures and live near bodies of water and streams where they hunt. They wait by the water until they feel ripples on its surface, and then they rush along it for prey. Water also helps them avoid predators, as they can hide below its surface by hiding their body in small air bubbles. While most fishing spiders feed on insects, some large species can even catch and eat small fish, tadpoles, and frogs.
Fishing spiders, like geckos, can travel on water because they are light and covered in short, hydrophobic hairs. They sometimes float on the water with several legs in the air while the wind pushes them along the water surface. Their short hairs also allow air bubbles to collect around their body as they burrow under the surface of the water. In fact, they are so buoyant that they have to hold on to something while underwater or they will rise straight to the surface and come out of the water completely dry. Some of the spiders can stay underwater for up to half an hour.
Dolphin
Without legs, it's hard to tell that dolphins can actually "walk" on water, but they are known for their ability to dance above the waves with their tail fins. Unlike other animals that use their ability to walk on water for some evolutionary advantage, researchers believe that dolphins do it just for fun - it's the equivalent of a human dancing.
Interestingly, having the ability to "walk" on water in this way, they almost never do so in the wild unless they have been trained by a dolphin once captured and trained by humans.
Western American grebe and Clark's grebe
Both species - the Western American grebe and Clark's grebe - practice a unique and beautiful pair technique - together they rush through the water. Birds stretch forward, rise to their feet and beat their wings non-stop. The pair then synchronously run through the water for up to 9 meters, making as many as twenty-two steps per second.
These birds spend almost their entire lives in the water and have short wings and strong legs that are poor for walking on land but great for their mating dance in the water.
Little storm-petrel
Unlike most of the other animals on this list, this bird does not walk on the surface of the water, although it does do something similar. In reality, she hovers close to the water, eating and running along its surface. In Europe, the bird got its name (Storm Petrel) from Saint Peter, who is believed to have walked on water. Her legs are too weak to support the bird's weight for more than a few steps on land, meaning she can walk further on water than on land.
Heron on hippopotamus
Sure, herons can't walk on water, but some birds look like they can - until the hippopotamus they're standing on jumps out of the water, showing what's really going on. Of course, a heron cannot walk on water, but such an illusion is worthy of applause.
Our today's list includes amazing representatives of the animal world that can move on water:
1 Basilisk Lizard
The Basilisk lizard, also known as the Jesus Christ lizard, hides from predators by falling from the top of a tree and running across the surface of a pool under the tree. They can run about 4.5 meters, developing an impressive speed of one and a half meters per second.
The long toes on the hind feet of these lizards are connected by webs, so by quickly splashing their hind feet in the water they create air pockets that prevent them from going under water, if only they maintain their speed. When they do go underwater, they can swim. However, they prefer to run on water to avoid the risk of being eaten by aquatic life.
2. Brazilian Pygmy Geckos (Brazilian Pygmy Geckos)
This tiny little girl is not only adorable, she's also talented. Due to its light weight and water-repellent skin, the gecko can easily walk on the surface of the water. Because the gecko is so tiny (they are smaller than many of the insects that live in the Amazon rainforest), they are at risk of drowning in even the smallest puddle, which scientists believe is why their ability to walk on water evolved.
3. Water striders 
Water striders belong to the family of water striders, distinguished by their ability to walk on water. They can do this thanks to water-repellent legs, which help to increase the stress on the surface of the water, evenly distributing the insect's body weight on all its legs. Their movements also help them move through the water. They push off with the middle pair of legs, making circular movements similar to the movements of oars, and glide forward through the water.
4Fishing Spiders
Hunter spiders, also known as dolomedes, are semi-aquatic insects that live near bodies of water where they hunt. They wait on the shore near a body of water until they notice ripples in the water and then run across the water to catch prey. Water also helps them avoid predators, as they can hide just below the surface by wrapping their body in tiny bubbles. While most hunter spiders feed on insects, larger species may also feed on small fish, tadpoles, and frogs.
Like geckos, huntsman spiders can move through the water due to their low weight and the abundance of short, water-repellent body hairs. Sometimes they float on the water, putting a few paws up so that the wind carries them in the right direction. Their short hairs also allow bubbles to form around their body as they burrow under the surface of the water. In fact, they are so buoyant that they have to hold on to something while underwater, otherwise the water will push them to the surface, and completely dry. Some types of hunting spiders can stay under water for half an hour.
5. Dolphins
Given that they have no legs, it's hard to say that dolphins "walk" on water, but they are famous for their ability to dance above the waves with their tail fins. Unlike other animals that use their ability to walk on water as an evolutionary advantage, dolphins, according to scientists, do it purely for fun - for them it is the equivalent of human dances.
Interestingly, while dolphins can “walk” with their tails, they almost never do so in the wild. The exceptions are cases when a dolphin that was previously in captivity and was trained was nailed to a group of wild dolphins.
6. Western and Clark's Grebes Grebes
Both the Western American grebe and Clark's grebe have a unique and beautiful mating ritual called "hurry" in which a pair of birds run across the water. Birds rush forward with their whole body and stand on their paws on the water, simultaneously flapping their wings. Then, the couple runs through the water in unison for a distance of about 9 meters, making 22 paw strikes on the water per second.
These birds spend almost their entire lives in the water. They have short wings and strong legs, which are not very comfortable for walking on land, but are indispensable for the mating ritual.
7. Kachurka
Unlike the other animals on this list, this bird does not walk on the surface of the water, although that is what it appears to be. In fact, she soars near the surface of the water and lowers her paws into it, grabbing prey. The bird's legs are too weak to support its weight for more than a few steps. Because of this, it seems that she can walk longer on water than on land.
8 Heron On A Hippo
Herons can't really walk on water, but the bird in this video looks like it can, until a hippo appears above the surface of the water, showing us what the heron's secret really is. She certainly can't walk on water, but she got as close to it as possible.
The water strider is a bug whose name reflects its lifestyle. These insects live on ponds, lakes and quiet rivers. There are also marine water striders. These bugs swim on the surface of the water and do not sink due to the fatty film that covers their paws. There is also a layer of fat on the abdomen. In addition, surface tension is characteristic of water, and largely due to this, water striders are held on its surface. The paws of this insect evenly distribute the weight on the surface of the water, which holds a light water strider with its density.
There are about 700 species of these bugs. The water strider has a narrow elongated body, which allows it to move quickly. The body length of the insect is from 1 to 3 centimeters. Also, the water strider has 3 pairs of thin legs of various lengths. The front pair of legs is short compared to the other two - the water strider uses these legs to capture prey. Thanks to the other two pairs of legs, the water strider can glide through the water. This bug also has a pair of antennae on its head - these whiskers help to catch the smallest vibrations in the water. Some water striders also have wings. Wingless water striders do not leave their native pond all their lives. Lake and river water striders do not move far from the shore of the reservoir, while sea water striders can cover distances of hundreds of meters. These insects do not live alone - at least 3-4 bugs can be found on the surface of the pond. Water striders feed on small insects - midges, caterpillars, mosquitoes. During the breeding season, water striders lay eggs, the number of which can be 50 pieces. The eggs hatch into larvae that feed on the same food as the adults.
Video: Mating dances of pond-scaters-Mating dances of pond-scaters
In summer weather, on the banks of a quiet river or pond, you can see an interesting insect - a water bug. It is also called the water strider, which is more familiar to many of us. This name accurately reflects the lifestyle of a peculiar insect. They quickly glide over the surface of the water, spreading their long and thin legs. What are these insects, their habitat, what do they eat and why are they called that?
water striders belong to the family Hemiptera insects of the suborder of bugs. Scientists have more than 700 species of these insects. We have the opportunity to observe in nature the most common species that lives on the surface of the water.
whole body and tips of the legs of a water bug covered with stiff hairs that are not wetted by water. It is this water-repellent coating that allows the water strider to easily move through the water and not sink. They glide across the water surface with their legs wide apart. They have 3 pairs of legs - the middle and rear ones are used for movement, support, as a steering wheel. A pair of shorter front legs serves to hold prey and a kind of engine when moving.
To turn around, the water strider moves its legs in different directions. Their elongated body can be length from 1 to 20 mm brown or dark brown. When insects overcome obstacles, they can jump. They have remarkable vision, as well as the ability to transmit and receive information using the vibrations of the surface of the water. Often the sensitive antennae are used by males to find a female to mate with.
River or lake individuals do not have wings, since they do not need them. There are also insects that live in puddles. They have wings, which they need to move around when the puddles dry up.
The most famous types include:
- large - the largest in our regions, their body length reaches 17 mm;
- slow rod-shaped water strider - lives in Siberia, and its body resembles a stick, which is why it is called so;
- pond - differs in the bright color of the paws.