296 



Bugs, Butterflies, and Beetles 



SKATERS OR GLIDERS 



The gliders (Fig. 277y2) always interest chil- 

 dren; the marvellous way they skate on running 

 water without wetting their feet is an endless source 

 of wonder to the young people. 



When the writer was a little fellow he visited a 

 beautiful country in Ohio. There was a brook 



about six or seven feet wide, with clear, sparkling 

 water in which one could see the little fish darting 

 around, and over the surface of which the whirligig 

 beetles made spirals and the gliders or skaters, 

 skimmed. The foot of a glider makes a dent in 

 the water, just as if the water had a thin skin on 

 the surface which had been pushed in. This dent 



