Only subscribers can access printable PDFs and other resources, please login or subscribe.

School subscribers can also access more than 200 downloadable bundles in our store for free (a value of $1,500).

District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Contact Sheri for a quote.

Water Strider

Gerris remigis

Range

There are many different species and they are found all over North America.

Habitat

They live on ponds and the calm edges of streams.

Body Traits

They have a thin, flat, body with long, thin legs. The back legs are much longer than the front legs. Tiny hairs on their legs keep water from reaching them and helps make the “water tension” that holds them up. They have no wings if they become adults in the summer. If they come out in the fall, they may have wings.

Habits

They “skate” on water’s surface using the water tension to hold them up.

Diet

They eat insects that land on the water. Both young phase and adult form have a “beak” that they stab prey with and suck out their juices.

Reproduction

Females lay eggs under water or on things that float by on the water. Young hatch out and live under water for a phase (larvae or nymph). They also eat insects.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Infraorder: Gerromorpha
Family: Gerridae
Genus: Gerris
Species: G. remigis

Current Subscribers: To view or print a PDF of this resource and its answer sheets (and link to any other available resources, like coloring, labeling, drawing pages and more), click the brown buttons at the top of this post. Note that these are only available to subscribers.

Not a Subscriber Yet? Join today to unlock these buttons and enjoy all of Exploring Nature’s resources.