📸 PhotoPhoto: Yasunori Koide · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Pond water strider
Aquarius paludum (Pond water strider · アメンボ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of 16 mm is slightly smaller than the diameter of a Korean 10-won coin (18 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is commonly observed on slow-moving parts of ponds and streams and occasionally flies to lights near homes (National List of Species of Korea).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The pond water strider is a hemipteran insect that skates across the water surface and is commonly seen on ponds and streams.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its blackish-brown to black body is densely covered with fine silvery hairs. The femora of its middle and hind legs are very long, nearly matching its body length.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Using the surface tension of water with its legs, it glides across the surface and sucks the bodily fluids of insects that fall onto the water. Occasionally it flies toward lights.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
According to the National List of Species of Korea, it lives throughout Korea and is widely distributed across Asia and Europe.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 67QDV
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000025981 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000025981
- • wikidata.org — Q10416510
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Water strider DSCN2815.w2.a2.jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Graham Montgomery · CC BY 4.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Aquarius remigis)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.