backswimmers
Upside-down pond bugs
Backswimmers are aquatic insects that swim upside down, using their long hind legs like oars.
They hang at the water's surface, belly-up, hunting smaller insects and tadpoles.
Their bite can be painful to humans—earning them the nickname "water wasps" in some regions.
Found in ponds and slow streams worldwide.
Clear essential liquid
- underwaterBelow the surface
- buoyancyFluid's upward resistance
- surface tensionCohesive force at liquid interfaces
- divingEntering water deliberately
flotation · freshwater · ponds · lakes · streams · rivers · air bubble · upside-down
Oar-legged pond insect
- bugCrawling creature or defect
- entomologyStudy of insects
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
invertebrate · compound eyes · antennae · nymph · molting · abdomen · thorax · six-legged
Surprise strike from concealment
- preyAnimal being hunted
- huntPursuit of quarry
- carnivorousFeeding on animal flesh
- captureTake into custody
predator · lurk · voracious · piercing · inject · paralyze · tadpoles · small fish
Small still body
- lakeEnclosed body of freshwater
- poolCollective fund or basin
- marshGrassy waterlogged lowland
- wetlandWaterlogged land ecosystem
duckweed · lily pads · cattails · algae · reeds · mud · still water · shallow water
Obscure in meaning
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- blendCombine into mixture
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- stealthSecret, undetected movement
water
Clear essential liquid
- underwaterBelow the surface
- buoyancyFluid's upward resistance
- surface tensionCohesive force at liquid interfaces
diving · flotation · freshwater · ponds · lakes · streams · rivers · air bubble · upside-down · submerged
water boatman
Oar-legged pond insect
- bugCrawling creature or defect
- entomologyStudy of insects
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
exoskeleton · invertebrate · compound eyes · antennae · nymph · molting · abdomen · thorax · six-legged · aquatic insect
ambush
Surprise strike from concealment
- preyAnimal being hunted
- huntPursuit of quarry
- carnivorousFeeding on animal flesh
capture · predator · lurk · voracious · piercing · inject · paralyze · tadpoles · small fish · water flea
pond
Small still body
wetland · duckweed · lily pads · cattails · algae · reeds · mud · still water · shallow water · vegetation
cryptic
Obscure in meaning
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- blendCombine into mixture
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- pond lifetadpoles, fish, frog, frogs, algae
- freshwaterponds, river water, freshwater lake, creek, brook
- neustonwater striders, springtails, biofilm