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1. kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Sunday, 17-Sep-2023 06:16:38 JST kho

   in reply to
   Athropod of today!!!!!!!
   
   Water strider legs are covered in thousands of microscopic hairs scored with tiny groves. As reported in National Geographic, “These groves trap air, increasing water resistance of the water’s striders legs and overall buoyancy of the insect.”
   
   The water skipper’s legs are so buoyant they can support fifteen times the insect’s weight without sinking. Even in a rainstorm, or in waves, the strider stays afloat.
   
   If a water strider’s legs go underwater, it’s very difficult for them to push to the surface.
   
   Their legs are more buoyant than even ducks’ feathers. The strider’s legs do more than repel water; they’re also configured to allow efficient and rapid movement across the surface.
   
   As with all insects, the water strider has three pairs of legs. The front legs are much shorter, and allow the strider to quickly grab prey on the surface. The middle legs act as paddles. The back legs are the longest and provide additional power, and also enable the strider to steer and “brake.”
   
   The buoyancy and paddling legs allows striders to be fast. Very, very fast. The National Geographic article reports striders are capable of “speeds of a hundred body lengths per second. To match them, a 6-foot-tall person would have to swim at over 400 miles an hour.”