Water Walker Insects Walk on Water

Some lightweight insects can walk on water.

In the photo of the water walker:

notice how much of the end of each leg presses against the surface of the water

notice how spread the legs are

A close up of the part of the legs touching the water would reveal a slight indentation of the water where the legs touch.

Why doesn’t the insect sink?

Why do the legs press the water’s surface down instead of breaking through?

Liquid water molecules link together in a way that results in the water’s surface acting like it has a thin skin across it. This is called surface tension.

For an FUN SURFACE TENSION activity, see    SURFACE TENSION.

For a FUN WATER WALKING INSECT MODEL, see  INSECT WATER WALKER