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Sticker of Lake pondskater
Bug card No. 2484 of 4,939

Lake pondskater

Aquarius paludum
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsTrue bugs and cicadasPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The lake pondskater walks on top of the water without sinking. It is one of the bigger pond skaters. It waits for insects that fall onto the water and rushes over to grab them.

Lives in
Europe and Asia, from western Europe to East Asia, on ponds, rivers and lakes
Top speed
about 2 km/h (1.2 mph)
Swimming, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It only hunts small animals on the water.
What does it eat?
It eats insects, insect larvae and spiders that land on the water. It stabs them with its beak.
For real!Photo of Lake pondskater
Picture by Yasunori Koide. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It is one of the largest pond skaters in Britain.

2

It feels the ripples on the water when an insect falls in, then hurries over to catch it.

3

It has a yellow line on each side of its front body and spines near its tail, which help experts tell it apart.

4

It lives on ponds, rivers, lakes and streams.

you asked

Most asked questions about Lake pondskater

?How does a pondskater walk on water?

Its long legs spread its weight out on the surface of the water, so it does not sink.

?What does the lake pondskater eat?

Insects, insect larvae and spiders that land on the water.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Aquarius paludum
Named by
Fabricius, 1794
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Gerridae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Gerridae
Lives on
Europe, Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Aquarius paludum (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Yasunori Koide. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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