gerridae

Since then, the Gerridae have been continuously studied due to their ability to walk on water and unique social characteristics.

Wing polymorphism is important to the variety and dispersal of Gerridae.

Unlike some Gerridae, riffle bugs are small, typically about 4.5 mm.

Kin discrimination is rare in Gerridae, only really being seen in Halobates.

Both female and male adult Gerridae hold separate territories, though usually the male territories are larger than the female.

A few insects have evolved to walk on the surface of the water, especially the bugs of the Gerridae family, commonly known as water striders.

While 90% of Gerridae are freshwater bugs, it is the oceanic Halobates that make the family quite exceptional among insects.

Some Gerridae females have also evolved abdominal spines and altered the shapes of their abdomens to make them less accessible to males.

Family Gerridae are physically characterized by having hydrofuge hairpiles, retractable preapical claws, and elongated legs and body.

Some water striders have wings present on the dorsal side of their thorax, while other species of Gerridae do not- particularly Halobates.

Wing polymorphism is common in Gerridae despite most univoltine populations being completely apterous (wingless) or macropterous (with wings).

For example, female water striders, Gerridae, and marine snails of the genus Littorina 24 have to carry the males on their backs while they mate.

Paurometabolism refers to insects whose nymphs occupy the same environment as the adults, as in the family Gerridae of Hemiptera.

The water strider (also known as the pond skater) is a true bug that's part of the family Gerridae that can run across the surface of water.

Around this time, Eschscholtz discovered three species of Family Gerridae, Order Hemiptera, raising attention to the species even though little of their biology was known.

Relative lengths of the antennae segments can help identify unique species within the family Gerridae, but in general segment I is longer and stockier than the remaining three.

The Gerridae or Water Striders of Oregon and Washington, (Hemiptera:Heteroptera)

Apterous populations of Gerridae would be restricted to stable aquatic habitats that experience little change in environment, while macropterous populations can inhabit more changing, variable water supplies.

Members of the family Veliidae resemble the pond skaters of the family Gerridae, but with stouter middle and hind legs, and a generally stouter appearance.

Consistent with the classification of Gerridae as true bugs, gerrids have a mouthpart evolved for piercing and sucking, gerrids distinguish themselves by having the unique ability to walk on water.

Since internal genitalia require specific training and tools to identify, it is almost impossible to tell a member of the Gerridae apart from a member of the Veliidae by external visual cues.

The "pondskaters" or "water striders" of the family Gerridae are also associated with water, but use the surface tension of standing water to keep them above the surface; they include the genus Halobates which is the only group of insects to be truly marine.