A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports has studied the species of Halobates hayaus and Halobates germanus, discovering that the key to the ability of this insect to move quickly on the surface lies in its waxy coating and its small hairs.
“Our multidisciplinary study is the first of its kind to investigate two species of sea skaters, the ocean- dwelling Halobates germanus and a coastal relative, H. hayaus, ” commented Gauri Mahadik of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology ( KAUST). “We wanted to understand how these insects had evolved to survive in harsh marine environments where others failed.”
In the ocean, these insects have a lot to deal with, from breakwaters to adverse weather systems, predatory fish and birds, as well as ultraviolet radiation from the sun. To survive all of this, these animals have adapted a specialized anatomical makeup to survive life in the ocean.
The experts used high-resolution imaging equipment, including ultra-fast videography and electron microscopy , to take a closer look at the hairs on the insect’s body. They found that the shapes, lengths, and diameters of the hairs varied throughout the body.
“The smallest hairs are shaped like golf clubs and are tight to prevent water from getting between them. This furry layer, if the insect is accidentally submerged, encloses it in an air bubble, helping it to breathe and resurface. quickly, “says Lanna Cheng of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
The experts also discovered that the insects went one step further than walking on water: they were closer to floating in the air than to walking. In its resting state, less than 5% of the total surface of its legs is in contact with water.
His superpowers don’t stop here. Upon taking off from the water’s surface, Halobates germanus was observed to accelerate at around 400 m / s2, more than 100 times the Usain Bolt speed, which records about 3 m / s2 . In Bolt’s defense, this feat is facilitated by the insect’s small size, but also by the way it uses water, like a trampoline, bouncing off the surface to propel its jump.
Referencia: Mahadik, G.A., Hernandez-Sanchez, J.F., Arunachalam, S. et al. Superhydrophobicity and size reduction enabled Halobates (Insecta: Heteroptera, Gerridae) to colonize the open ocean. Sci Rep 10, 7785 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64563-7
