another pic of water spider

love these guys!

They are faster than a streak of lightening aren't they Mamagem...lol

oh yeah.

Lovely pic with beautiful reflection caught him top and bottom ..no hiding from you and that camera is there ?

Another great shot Fl

Are these what we call water boatmen? great shot.

Thanks Bonkers. I was bored that day and had alot of time on my hands, nothing was safe from me that day, what can I say...lol
Thanks Bob !
Bet it is the same thing Dotty, I think I have heard them called the same thing here, thanks !

No not water boatmen they live under the water film and have paddle shaped legs like oars there are called pond skaters, great pic Fl

Now I am totally confused lol

You and me both Dotty, but I seem to stay that way...lol.

Sorry the there should have been a these, Will post you a pic later ladies, have to go out for a couple of hours now, your pic is a pond skater though Gerris lacustris and the Backswimmer (water boatman) is Notonecta glauca

Pics now posted sorry theyre not very clear,but they should do I think!

Pretty good explanation by Indy .. I too have pics of the them both in my pond .

As he said this a picture of a pond skater that skims across the surface ..water boatmen are beetles that lie on their backs and row with their legs just below the surface.

I am so glad we got that sorted out............

Thanks guys ! I'll have to go check and see if I have any water boatmen now ....:-)

I got stung by two waterboatmen when I was a kid when I pulled them out of my fishing net - really painfull it was! But I suppose it taught me to be more respectful lol

Wow..., didn't know they could sting you, thanks for the warning. I'll make sure and check them out from a safe distance......

Ok Jerrie lol It's the waterboaten that sting/bite, not the pondskaters/water spiders tho ;-)

they are Gerris remigis.... water striders... (they are not spiders...they have only four legs!!) they're so fast it takes a dip net to catch them and they jump out before you can get your hands on them!
they eat other insects...and according to wiki some scientists have studied their legs...they shed water and allow the insect to stand on the surface miniscus. (they used the term Hydrophobic legs!!!! LOL.) I thought hydrophobia was a disease of mammals! lol not an insect's leg design!) but it relates to the structure of the hairs on the legs which repell water. so cool. lol.

Thanks Lori, awesome information . I wish I had a tenth of your intelligence friend !...:-)

hahahah.... you mean my search engine don't you? LOL....but thanks for the lovely compliment... (I guess my reference to Wikipedia was a bit left handed but that's where I found all the info!)

:-)..., nice try Lori, but I know better ! I'll not let you sell yourself short, friend....~!

Great pic Jerrie...yep pond skaters...amazing how they stay on top of the water skin. Is that a water hyacinth there? I remember putting these in our little pond in Spain, they had the most beautiful lilac coloured flowers...:o)

Sure is Janey, the blooms are beautiful and it's about the only water plant I can get to bloom in my pond being it's in so much shade.

LOL...Jerrie , here..we call them water skippers...I have always loved to watch them...but I have heard them call boatman before...

I believe they have more names than legs to stand on Catfinch...lol. What ever one wants to call them, it 's fun to watch them streak across the water at the speed of light...;-). As you can tell, it doesn't take much to entertain me....lol

I call them pond skaters, love watching them.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one Michaella !.....;-)

I always heard hydrophobia as another name for rabies...lol...like the names for water striders...as many as stars in the sky!

That's quite right Lori. Hydrophobia is another name for rabies. It comes from the fact that animals sufferring from it develop a fear of water or so it's said.
I'm sticking to pond skater as the correct name for the insect.

water-skaters-spiders-skippers-striders
pond-skippers-striders-skater-spiders....
lightening boatmen....water-skippers...water-spiders...water striders...pond- skaters...pond-skippers... water skimmers...and so on... and so on....sounds like there's a nonsense poem in there somewhere...anyone care to give it a go?

Not me Lori, I'll leave that to the intelligencier.

Well Toto, guess that elliminates me...lol !

Definitely not Flcrazy.