Another Bug ID

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saximus

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I remember when I was little we used to always find these things in the pool. We used to call them "back swimmers" because that's what they looked like they were doing :oops:. I was just outside on the phone and found this guy flailing around on the bonnet of my car so I grabbed it and brought it inside to the bathroom sink. It looked like it was less than useless on land (or a car bonnet) so I'm wondering what are they and where do they come from? Are they a larval form of something that doesn't suck on dry land?

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Well the are backswimmers and there are water boatman, going by how slim it is id say its a backswimmer but the way to ell is to look really close and check whether its legs are on top of it or below it, if ontop its a backswimmer :)
 
Oh ok cool thanks guys. I can't believe that that's actually their name. I thought it was just something my step brother made up haha

On close inspection its legs are on top. It's fascinating watching it swim around. It actually has a tiny water bubble that it seems to be using to control its buoyancy. How sad am I - I have the Matrix paused so I can watch a bug swim around in my bathroom sink
 
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We used to find them in the pools but we called them 'rowboats' always hard to catch in water and they do fly but I don't know what they're purpose is.
 
Are they macrogyrus spp. ?

I know them as whirligig beetles - I think they're pretty widespread throughout Australia.

But when I 'whirligig beetle' image search, they don't look too much like your fella - so maybe they're different?
 
We used to find them in the pools but we called them 'rowboats' always hard to catch in water and they do fly but I don't know what they're purpose is.

LOL I grew up at the bottom of NSW and we called them "rowboats" too.
 
Whirligigs are a whole different creature again :). My last job was working as an educatir for schools excursion groups and aquatic invertebrates were one of the classes we did, heaps of fun :)
 
They are in the insect order Hemiptera which are the 'true bugs' and includes stink bugs etc. They are adults and the air bubble is used for both buoyancy and respiration in the water in many cases. I'm pretty sure they are capable of flight as many 'true bugs' are. if they are backswimmer they are from the family notonectidae and are predatorial to other aquatic inverts/larvae
 
Whirligigs are a whole different creature again :). My last job was working as an educatir for schools excursion groups and aquatic invertebrates were one of the classes we did, heaps of fun :)

That will explain why Sax's bug looks different to whirligigs on google :)
 
Gobo has it correct. And as you observed Saximus, they do swim on their backs. Members of the order Hemiptera include cicads, aphids and crusader (stink) bugs. They have sucking mouthparts that tuck down against the thorax when not in use. They go through incomplete metamorphosis, like cockroaches and crickets, so the little ones (nymphs) look similar to the adults, except without wings.

Like most insects, they disperse as adults. Based on my own observations, I have a theory that they take flight on moon lit nights and then look for a light source below. In nature, the only light they of significance they would see is the reflection of the moon from the surface of water. So if the barrel straight into the lit area they will hit water. They kind of pull up pretty promptly when they hit something like a highly polished car bonnet reflecting an overhead street lamp or the glass cover on someone’s torch. Anyhow, that is how I reckon they locate new water bodies to lay their eggs and maintain the species just in case the original water body dries out (not uncommon in Australia).

Blue
 
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