Patterns Created by a Water Strider
November 08, 2021
Photographer: Bertrand Kulik
Summary Authors: Bertrand Kulik; Jim Foster
The curious wave pattern featured above was made on a small stream by a water strider, at center. The contrast between light and dark is so strong here because the photo was snapped in bright sunlight. Thanks to surface tension, a strider’s (also known as water spiders, or pond skaters) long, thin legs and micro hairs, over its entire body, enable it to “walk” over the water’s surface. Note that where its legs touch the water, minute depressions are formed on the surface that act as miniature mirrors.
Can you see the smiley face? Photo taken from l’Evêque, Burgundy, France on August 29, 2021.
Photo details: Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera; EF100-400 mm; f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III; ƒ/8.0; 560.0 mm; 1/8000 sec. exposure; 50 ISO.