Examining how the world's largest water striders jump on water

Water striders live on the water surface and their leg length ranges from several to over 100 millimeters. It is well known that they use their long hydrophobic legs and support their bodies on the surface without breaking ...

Water striders illustrate evolutionary processes

How do new species arise and diversify in nature? Natural selection offers an explanation, but the genetic and environmental conditions behind this mechanism are still poorly understood. A team led by Abderrahman Khila at ...

Water-repellent material sheds like a snake when damaged

Imagine a raincoat that heals a scratch by shedding the part of the outer layer that's damaged. To create such a material, scientists have turned to nature for inspiration. They report in ACS' journal Langmuir a water-repellant ...

Shadows reveal how insects walk on water

Water striders' ability to walk and jump on the surfaces of ponds and lakes has long amazed curious observers—and inspired robot designers who want to mimic the bugs' talent. Now, scientists have measured for the first ...

'Shadow method' reveals locomotion secrets of water striders

While walking beside the creek in the Beijing Botany Garden one autumn, Yu Tian, a professor of mechanical engineering at Tsinghua University in China, noticed the beautiful shadows cast by water striders on the bottom of ...

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