An overview of the pond Skaters

I’d like to start out this blog by saying that the last time I was at my sit-spot the little stream was overcome with algae; and since that time the pond has been rectified to its former glory and is once again a thriving, clean and flowing stream and it made me very happy that the stream is once again in good health and not taken over by algae.  

This time, I have chosen to further study the-arguably- the most interesting creatures in the stream: the little, almost clear creatures that seem to float right on or under the water surface and they run around and play tag with each other running into one another. Watching these little creatures have always been one of my favorite things to observe and do at my sit-spot, but I have never actually known what these creatures are and I decided with this assignment that I would once and for all find out what these creatures are. At first, I thought they have been crawfish or the alike, but after further discussion I learned that they are indeed not crawfish and after a bit of research I found them to be the Gerris Lacustris or The Common Pond skater.  

I went to my sit-spot to study the pond skaters around 7 o’clock at night on 10/6. While these creatures are fun to watch, they do not particularly do a lot. I suppose another word to describe watching them would be ‘calming’ it’s almost tranquil watching these creatures float or ‘skate’ across the water. In the I spent observing them they would float in little groups together and just lay on top of the water. Eventually one in the group or another close by handle would suddenly skate across the water and ram right into another one. The inflicted Pond skater and the instigator and both freeze for a minute and they one that run into the other would suddenly spin around the other would chase it, starting a game of tag that would soon involve some other. In the meantime, the others not playing or when a game was not going on, they would just float across the water. Again, watching these Pond Skaters go through these various patterns is a very calming experience. 

My *very* bad sketch

Another thing noticed about the Pond Skaters, is they are very cautious and flighty creatures. When I leaned over to get some pictures with my phone, they instantly skidded away from me. Anytime I put my phone close to them to get a good picture, they again would skid away from it, and I thought this was an interesting observation.  

The Gerris Lacustris (Pond Skater) is a small, long legged bodies insect with an average body size of 2-12mm that have the ability to walk on water. These creatures are metamorphically similar to the Chresmoda– an insect from the late Jurassic to Mid Cretaceous eras. Their ability to walk on water is due to the combination of waters high surface tension and their long hydrophobic legs. They are found in slow moving, freshwater, like streams. Pond skaters and predators and feed off invertebrates that fall on

A closer look at a huddle of the skaters

the water’s surfaces- like insects and spiders.  

Figuring out what exact species they were was honestly a bit challenging and frustrating. The process I used was to search ‘Water insects’ or ‘insects in streams’ and look at pictures and keys that came up in hopes I would a picture of my water insects. It was frustrating not finding anything at first, but once I started narrowing my search, I eventually found a key with them in it. While it was frustrating, it was very satisfying to finally find out what exactly these mystery creatures are.  

Overall, I found this experience of observing and then looking up was fun and enjoyable. It is also calming to just take a minute and take in my sit-spot and watching the Pond skaters go around is very relaxing and fun to watch. Finally, figuring out what these creatures where and doing research on them was also exciting and I am glade the solved my ‘mystery of the insect’ once and for all.