Water-Strider

a slender, long-legged bug noted for the lively way in which it circles around on the surface of wayside pools. It has a slender body and a wonderfully agile movement. A swarm of these insects will rest motionless until approached, when they set up a whirling dance, circling around each other so rapidly that they seem almost like ripples. The striders live on other insects. They may be seen to leap into the air to catch a passing midge. They glue their eggs to the stems of aquatic plants. In winter they seek shelter under stones or a projecting bank.