page_title: Veliidae
section_title: Water walking
hierarchical_section_title: Veliidae / Water walking
caption_attribution_description: Hexapoda Hemiptera Heteroptera Veliidae Velia rivulorum Associated with hot coastal regions
context_page_description: Veliidae is a family of gregarious predatory insects in the suborder Heteroptera. They are commonly known as riffle bugs, small water striders, or broad-shouldered water striders because the segment immediately behind the head is wider than the rest of the abdomen. The genus Rhagovelia is also referred to as a ripple bug.
  Veliidae have a specialized body plan that allows them to walk on water and are pleuston. Gerridae is another closely related group that is also pleuston and both are in the superfamily Gerroidea. Veliidae are smaller however, between 1.5 and 6 mm. They can be found on ponds, near lake shores, and in rivers worldwide. Some species can also be found on plants near water, in salt water or in mud flats.
context_section_description: Veliidae can walk on water because they take advantage of the high surface tension of water and have hydrophobic legs that distribute their weight across more water.
  
  Although Gerridae typically have longer legs, Veliidae also have legs that spread out the weight over a relatively large area. Thousands of hydrofugal hairs also coat the entire body, mitigating potential problems incurred by water contact: air bubbles, trapped among the tiny hairs if the insect is submerged, lift the insect towards the surface again.
caption: Velia rivulorum
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