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True Facts: The Bizarre Magic of Water Walkers

Ze Frank | December 20, 2025



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Credits:

Dr. David L. Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. John W.M. Bush, MIT
Dr. Victor M. Ortega-Jimenez, UC Berkeley
Dr. Manu Prakash, Stanford University
Benedikt Pleyer, https://www.youtube.com/@benediktpleyer
Charley Williams, MrShoptaw on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCd6zIuACLw
Wandering Sole Images https://www.youtube.com/@WanderingSoleTV
NHK / Getty Images
iStock
Shutterstock
Pond5
Envato

Citations:

Armisén, D., Nagui Refki, P., Crumière, A. et al. Predator strike shapes antipredator phenotype through new genetic interactions in water striders. Nat Commun 6, 8153 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9153

Bush, John W.M. & David L. Hu. Walking on Water: Biolocomotion at the Interface. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 2006. 38:339–69. doi: 10.1146/annurev.fluid.
38.050304.092157

Bush, John W.M., David L. Hu, Manu Prakash,
The Integument of Water-walking Arthropods: Form and Function, Editor(s): J. Casas, S.J. Simpson, Advances in Insect Physiology, Academic Press, Volume 34, 2007, Pages 117-192, ISSN 0065-2806, ISBN 9780123737144, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2806(07)34003-4.

Crumière AJJ, Santos ME, Sémon M, Armisén D, Moreira FFF, Khila A. Diversity in Morphology and Locomotory Behavior Is Associated with Niche Expansion in the Semi-aquatic Bugs. Curr Biol. 2016 Dec 19;26(24):3336-3342. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.061.

Hayashi, Morito & Bakkali, Mohammed & Hyde, Alexander & Goodacre, Sara. (2015). Sail or sink: Novel behavioural adaptations on water in aerially dispersing species. BMC evolutionary biology. 15. 118. 10.1186/s12862-015-0402-5.

Hu, D., Bush, J. Meniscus-climbing insects. Nature 437, 733–736 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03995

Hu, D., Chan, B. & Bush, J. The hydrodynamics of water strider locomotion. Nature 424, 663–666 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01793

Kim W, Amauger J, Ha J, Pham TH, Tran AD, Lee JH, Park J, Jablonski PG, Kim HY, Lee SI. Two different jumping mechanisms of water striders are determined by body size. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jul 25;120(30):e2219972120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2219972120.

Mahadik GA, Hernandez-Sanchez JF, Arunachalam S, Gallo A Jr, Cheng L, Farinha AS, Thoroddsen ST, Mishra H, Duarte CM. Superhydrophobicity and size reduction enabled Halobates (Insecta: Heteroptera, Gerridae) to colonize the open ocean. Sci Rep. 2020 May 8;10(1):7785. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64563-7.

O’Neil JN, Yung KL, Difini G, Walker H, Bhamla S. Tiny Amphibious Insects Use Tripod Gait for Traversal on Land, Water, and Duckweed. Integr Comp Biol. 2024 Sep 27;64(3):1044-1054. doi: 10.1093/icb/icae078. PMID: 38897812.

Ortega-Jimenez VM, Challita EJ, Kim B, Ko H, Gwon M, Koh JS, Bhamla MS. Directional takeoff, aerial righting, and adhesion landing of semiaquatic springtails. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Nov 16;119(46):e2211283119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2211283119.

Prakash, Manu & Bush, John. (2011). Interfacial propulsion by directional adhesion. International Journal of Non-linear Mechanics – INT J NON-LINEAR MECH. 46. 607-615. 10.1016/j.ijnonlinmec.2010.12.003.

Rohilla, Pankaj; Johnathan N. O’Neil, Chandan Bose, Victor M. Ortega-Jimenez, Daehyun Choi, Saad Bhamla. Epineuston vortex recapture enhances thrust in tiny water skaters. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.17.599397

Rohilla P, O’Neil JN, Singh P, Ortega-Jimenez VM, Choi D, Bose C, Bhamla S. Interfacial vortex recapture enhances thrust in tiny water skaters. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Mar 25:2024.06.17.599397. doi: 10.1101/2024.06.17.599397.

Watson, D.A., M.R. Thornton, H.A. Khan, R.C. Diamco, D. Yilmaz-Aydin, & A.K. Dickerson, Water striders are impervious to raindrop collision forces and submerged by collapsing craters, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121 (5) e2315667121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2315667121 (2024).

Xu, Zhonghua & Lenaghan, Scott & Reese, Benjamin & Jia, Xinghua & Zhang, Mingjun. (2012). Experimental Studies and Dynamics Modeling Analysis of the Swimming and Diving of Whirligig Beetles (Coleopter: Gyrinidae). PLoS computational biology. 8. e1002792. 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002792.

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Written by Ze Frank

Comments

This post currently has 39 comments.

  3. @CockatooDude

    December 20, 2025 at 5:53 pm

    I just want to put into perspective how impressive all this footage is. I actually went to try and help Dr. Victor Ortega Jimenez (I worked on the media team for that school at the time) get some video footage of springtails jumping and also some static shots, and it was by far the most challenging thing I have ever had to photograph. Those things are like a millimeter across, and they are constantly moving around. Thing is, with something that small you need a specialized lens that doesn't have autofocus, and you have to move the lens so close to the "subject" that it blocks out all the light from a normal flash, so you need a specialized end-of-the-lens flash. Now even though I had both of these things, the flash doesn't charge immediately and you usually have an approximately 0.1 second window when a springtail is both in-focus and not moving too fast to capture, and it's still very small in your field of view, so you'll have to zoom in digitally and for it to still be sharp, that things has to be moving very slowly when you take the shot. The result of this is that 3 times out of 4, when you press the camera trigger the flash doesn't fire because it hasn't been charged yet since your last attempt at a shot, and the lens is so close that many times the light from the end-of-lens flash is actually at too extreme an angle to illuminate the springtail! So Dr. Jimenez had a huge light that he used for getting slow motion shots which he put over top of the springtail enclosure to illuminate them, but the issue with that was it would heat up the area the springtails were in and you'd get about a minute to photograph them before they started dying.

    All this to say, all the shots you see in this video of the springtails were ones he managed to get on his own, and I am incredibly impressed he managed to do all that despite not being a photography enthusiast. In fact, they were so good that with the equipment we had on hand, my boss and I could not manage to get anything better than what he had already done. Getting those slow-motion shots of them jumping is likely the culmination of multiple days of patience, if not weeks. And even the best of what we had at the media team would not have been anywhere near enough to improve upon them.

    I can't comment in detail on the shots of the water striders, but I can't imagine many of those close-up shots would be much easier either.

    Seeing the credits also made me remember that I took a series of shots of floating ants for Dr. Hu, and that was definitely the second most challenging photoshoot I've ever had to do, though it was thankfully significantly easier than the springtails.

  32. @ewetubin1

    December 20, 2025 at 5:53 pm

    Is there a kids version??? My Grandson showed me your channel. But I can't let him watch it …."cause cursing.Other wise I can watch it and its great!

  34. @feralbluee

    December 20, 2025 at 5:53 pm

    Just saw the camel video and now this. How the heck did these body parts evolve? It really is totally amazing, although it took maybe thousands of years. As you said, over the thousands and thousands of years, anteaters have evolved many times. Even now we have at least two species – the echidna in Australia and the larger placental anteater. Maybe there are more. (Look it up.) 🌷🌱

  38. @killermarquis

    December 20, 2025 at 5:53 pm

    I give up! I spent 25 minutes trying to donate to return the favor at wetlands whatever only to be unverifiable…again! It used to amuse me when it happened but now it's every time and after the time I've paged through pages of bs to finally get to the money part only to be unverifiable again. Also the repetition of name, address, cell phone card # etc I want someone to explain to me HOW EXACTLY IS THIS BETTER AGAIN? ARGHHH! 😬

    I'm sorry I don't have the stamina to support horseshoe crabs. I hate this we're- nothing- but- a- source- of data- points world we live in. Thank heaven I'm old and will be dead soon. I tried…and failed,
    again, night night.

Comments are closed.

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