Did you know that some kinds of insects can swim on their backs? There are certain peculiar types of bugs’ called back swimmers greater water boatman that swim upside down. These back swimmers are also called boat bugs. Although they spend most of their lives in water, they are able to fly long distances. These insects are small, usually 3 to 17 millimeters 0.13 to 0.63 inch in length. Instead of wings, they use their legs to swim. They swim on their backs and make use of their hid legs to paddle through the water. These flat paddles are ideal for swimming, and re often made even more efficient by a fringe of hair, which runs down each side. This provides a broader surface to push the water. The insect uses its short front legs for holding its prey.
Backswimmers
Backswimmers enclose a bubble of air between their wings and body. This air s used for breathing when they are underwater. This lets them stay underwater for as long as six hours. In winters, backswimmers bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of a pond or stream.
They have sharp beaks, which they use for stabbing fish and other small water animals and suck out their juices as food. Backswimmers sometimes bite human beings.
These creatures belong to Notonectidae family, which has in all about 200 species. They are generally found all over the world. They cause great harm to fishes and tadpoles. They deposit their eggs on the tissues of pond vegetation.
