The Water Striders 



One of the commonest water striders of the United States 

 is Hygrotrechus remigis Say, It is about a half-inch long, dari^- 

 brown in color, and moderately stout. It is everywhere seen 

 skimming about on the surface of mill-ponds or similar bodies of 

 water. It uses its slender, rather hairy hind legs as oars, prac- 

 tically rowing itself, and frequently congregates in groups with 

 others of its kind in quiet places as though to talk over old times. 

 Full-grown specimens are seen towards the end of summer, and 



Fig. 175. — Rheumatobates rileyi. (Original.) 



at the approach of cold weather they hide away under the banks 

 of streams in mud or beneath leaves, or at the bottom of the 

 water under stones, and wait until spring. As the weather 

 grows warmer they bob up to the surface of the water and 

 prepare for egg-laying. The eggs are whitish, translucent, and 

 are long, nearly cylindrical, and blunter at one end than at the 

 other. They are stuck on the leaves and stems of the water 

 plants. The young strider does not issue from the egg by 

 pushing off a cap at the end as do other water bugs, but by 



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