water strider

American  

noun

1. any of several aquatic bugs of the family Gerridae, having long, slender legs fringed with hairs, enabling the insects to dart about on the surface of the water.

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water strider British  

noun

1. another name for a pond-skater

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Etymology

Origin of water strider

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

He had seen water striders, those insects that support themselves in swift streams on long legs kept wide apart.

From Literature

Trygstad, an avid fly fisherman, has long observed water striders and would like to further study their movements.

From Science Daily

Biologists and physicists have long studied water-walking insects, and already, scooting water striders have helped engineers build robots that can leap from the water’s surface.

From Science Magazine

There were migrating birds in the trees, water striders in the stream and all sorts of invertebrates in the fallen leaves.

From Washington Post

It also appears to allow them to evade predators waiting in the water below, as the caterpillar in the video above does, zipping past a swarm of hungry water striders.

From Science Magazine