The Backswimmer Backswimmers are aquatic insects with a boat shaped back and paddle-like legs. Their hind legs are much longer than their middle and front legs. The hind legs are about 1.3 cm in length.
Backswimmers swim upside-down on their backs just under the surface of the water.
They swim by moving their long hind legs like the oars of a boat. The backswimmer has an interesting colour scheme which camouflages it from its prey and predators. This pattern blends in with the light and shadows of the ponds surface and makes backswimmers very difficult for predators to spot. The underside or belly of the backswimmer is a muddy brown tone which looks like the bottom of the pond. This camouflages the backswimmer from predators such as birds that might see it from above.